Two Worlds, One War
by articmadador
Summary: The Autobots are banished from Earth and end up stranded on Cybertron, which is now a barren wasteland. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for Earth and the human race. Without the Autobots there to defend them, the humans don't stand a chance. The Autobots may be stranded and the Decepticons are conquering Earth, but things are never as they seem. The real battle has only just begun.
1. Chapter 1

**Yo! articmadador here saying hey, I'm not dead! It's been a good minute since I've posted anything, and I'm really sorry. I tried making a sequel to Metal Angels and Metal Demons, but it was a tremendous flop. I didn't like it that much, and even though I never got any negative reviews on it, it wasn't very popular. Anyway, I hope to continue writing with those OCs, and I might put them in this story, who knows? I hope this story is more popular, and I hope to write some more stories. I have too many ideas in my head that are trying to claw their way out and it's killing me.**

 **Now on to the good stuff. I'm taking some ideas from the All Hail Megatron comic, but there shouldn't be any spoilers in case you haven't read it. I haven't read much of it myself, but I've read enough to be inspired. I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Habro does. Please review and enjoy!**

* * *

How many cities had crumbled? How many innocent civilians had died horrific deaths? How many were still alive, trapped under debris or taking refuge in damaged buildings? Why weren't the governments doing anything about this? Why had the army and navy tried to fight without their most valuable allies? So many questions, all with seemingly no sensible answers.

It all started with the Battle at Chicago, where U.S. armed forces fought the Decepticons without their Autobot allies. It had been decided that the Autobots were a danger to the human race, despite all that they had done for Earth and its inhabitants. They left without a fight in the Xantium, and their former allies watched as they left Earth's atmosphere. As soon as they were out of orbit, an attack was launched on Chicago. A plan was then executed by the Decepticons and their own human allies. Using pillars constructed by Sentinel Prime, they would teleport their planet Cybertron to Earth with space bridge technology. They would then conquer Earth and force the human race to rebuild Cybertron and serve them. This plan, however, ultimately failed.

The Autobots were practically banished from Earth, but that did not stop them from continuing their battle. They headed straight for the Decepticon spacebridge outpost on Earth's moon and attacked the Decepticons there. They managed to sabotage the space bridge and right it to explode, wiping out the Decepticons residing there. With the outpost on the moon destroyed and no Decepticons remaining there, the Decepticons and Sentinel Prime could not teleport Cybertron to Earth.

The Autobots fighting on the moon came with a price. They ended up being pursued by a Decepticon warship. While attempting to flee from their attackers, the Autobot ship was blasted, causing many of the Autobots to be injured, in last ditch effort to save themselves, they quantum jumped, unfortunately arriving at a barren Cybertron. The ship crashed there, and though the Autobots were now safe from harm, they were also stranded on their barren planet.

On Earth, despite how they fought, the armed forces were no match against the Decepticons, and once Chicago was conquered, the Decepticons moved on to other cities. Major cities across the world were attacked, many of them being completely obliterated. Though much of the human race had not witnessed the Decepticon attack first hand, everyone was affected in one way or another. As the Decepticons continued to destroy cities and kill innocent humans, people began to lose hope. The only allies who could defeat the Decepticons were light years away with no way of getting back to Earth. As of now, they were fighting a war of their own.

* * *

 _Clang…clang…clang…_

The sound of metal clanging against metal seemed to echo throughout the hall and in everyone's audio receptors. The halls were so long and dark, and there were no sounds other then the structure settling and the sound of pedes on the metal floor. It was so loud and annoying with the sound constantly echoing off the walls. Everyone was quiet, and the fact that no one was going to say anything about the noise made it much worse.

 _Clang…clang…clang…_

At least they were inside a stable building, sheltered from the horrible storms raging outside. Thanks to those storms, many of them had the paint blown right off of them and their armor damaged. One of them had almost blown away. They had hardly made it inside the building in time. It was surprising that they could not hear the storm, but they were in the lowest basement level of the building. Not many outside sounds reached these lower levels, but that meant that any noise made down here echoed.

 _Clang…clang…clang…_

That sound was so annoying! It seemed to burn audio receptors and bounce around in one's CPU. Still no one said anything, but simply allowed it to continue. It was a wonder that no one had said anything by now. Just a few cycles ago they had been at each other's throat. Everyone's nerves had been on edge after the crash, which was a result of them being betrayed by the humans they had sought to protect, nearly losing their lives on the moon, then risking their lives yet again in a quantum jump only to crash land on Cybertron. They were stranded in their own dead planet while a battle raged on Earth. Meanwhile they were possibly being faced with a new battle.

 _Clang…clang..._

"Stop clanging your helm against the wall, Evac!"

Everything fell silent, and everyone except Evac looked at Prowl. "What else am I supposed to do?"

Prowl scoffed and turned to look down the hall. Ratchet was crouched there repairing some damage to Topspin's shoulder. The medic looked very annoyed and frustrated. Topspin stared at the wall, seemingly lost in thought. Prowl turned and looked at Evac, who was now looking at him and waiting for an answer. Prowl's doorwings twitched, and he turned away. Evac vented loudly, and after a few nanokliks the sound of him hitting his helm on the wall echoed through the hall. A loud clang followed by a whimper signaled that Ratchet had taken the matter into his servos.

"Stop acting like a fragging sparkling. Instead of sitting there and being a nuisance, why don't you go Get Optimus? He's been talking to Ironhide long enough."

Prowl could tell by Ratchet's tone that what he really meant was 'go get Optimus because if you make another sound I'll disassemble you'. Evac was quiet, then there was the sound of him getting up and walking down the hall. Prowl found himself staring off into space, analyzing the many plans that they could try to get off Cybertron. He found this frustrating, seeing as they would need a ship and there weren't even any bare materials left to build a simple shelter from, much less a ship. He didn't bother to waste his thoughts on a space bridge, because the moment one was activated, Cybertron would be sent to Earth.

The Autobots were in a very bad fix indeed, and ever since they had arrived Prowl had been trying to think of a way out. It wasn't going to be easy, especially not with the three injured mechs they had with them. Sentinel Prime had intended to kill Ironhide with the cosmic rust gun, but instead Knock Out jumped in front of the blast, giving his life to save Ironhide's. Ironhide was injured when he attempted to fight Sentinel, and could have been offlined. If Skids and Mudflap had not jumped in and allowed themselves to be bashed around, Ironhide would be dead by now. The three of them were banged up and dented, but they would survive. Ratchet argued that they were not fit for travel, and it would interrupt the healing process to move them, though everyone knew that was just a way to stall so that Prime and Prowl could think of something. In the end the government would have none of it, and they were banished from Earth.

Banished is a harsh word to use, but Prowl believed that they were banished. The human race did not want them there. They never had and never would. They were probably safer here on their barren planet than on Earth with the humans. At least here they weren't bound by contracts and constantly treated like machines that would go on a killing spree at any moment. But here they had almost nothing. There was little energon here, and most of it was medical grade. There were no supplies here like guns or ammunition, and most of the buildings had been demolished. They needed to get off this planet, or at least find supplies somewhere. They could not do that with the storms raging outside. Even if there weren't any storms, they would probably have to search for days to find the right equipment. There were so many problems with every plan Prowl thought off, that he found himself in danger of overloading his CPU.

"Prowl! Snap out of it!"

Prowl blinked and found that Sideswipe was standing right in front of him. The mech's servos were on his shoulders as if he had been shaking him to get his attention. He looked concerned, and when Prowl looked pass him he saw that everyone else in the hall was staring at him. Sideswipe removed his servos, the worried look never leaving his faceplates.

"Prowl, are you alright?" Sideswipe asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Prowl replied in a quiet voice.

"You're thinking too much. We don't want you to glitch."

"I won't, but I need to think of a way for us to get off this planet."

"At least take a break. Get some recharge or—"

"How can I recharge at a time like this!?"

Sideswipe did not flinch from Prowl's harsh tone, but he did look as if it had surprised him. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and shook his head. He turned and silently rolled away, going to stand beside a partially invisible Mirage. Prowl seemed to zone out again, thinking of more plans that had no good outcome, and when he snapped out of it he found that he was staring at Mirage. The mech did not seem to notice, but was instead focused on Que. The older mech sat on the floor holding what was left of his inventions he had made on Earth. He was muttering to himself, and he seemed tense. The poor mech had made quite a few achievements on Earth, and many of his inventions were taken and used in military tech. He hadn't received any thanks for his efforts.

Prowl remembered that he had almost questioned Prime's choice to stop at the moon and destroy the space bridge outpost there. Why help a species who had just banished you and your kind after all you had done for them? But the way Prime saw it, the humans were still their allies in need, and Earth was the safest and most habitable planet for Cybertronians. It was almost as if Prime knew they would come back. Now mankind was probably being blasted to bits by the Decepticons. Prowl somewhat believed that they deserved it for banishing the Autobots. However, when it came down to it Prowl did feel bad for them. They would not stand a chance against the Decepticons, and they were only doing what they thought was best for their species. In the end, it turns out that they made a horrible choice, and now they were suffering for it. Prowl didn't know whether it was best that the Autobots go back and fight for mankind, or if they should just leave it be. Optimus had said they would go back and fight, because Earth was still their home, so that's what they would do. The only problem is that they didn't know how, which meant that Prowl was right back where he started. As he started running over plans again, he found that he had already thought of most of them and none of them would be successful. It was a cycle of plans that would fail, and no matter how hard Prowl tried to come up with something different, they all seemed hopeless.

"Frag it all to slaggin' pit!" Ratchet hissed when Prowl glitched and went falling to the ground. Roadbuster was there to catch him, and gently lay the mech on the floor.

"How am I supposed to get anything done in these conditions!?" Ratchet growled.

At that moment Optimus walked down the hall from where he had been talking to Ironhide. He looked at Prowl, then signed. "I had hoped he would last until I had a chance to talk with him."

Though it seemed like his statement was not directed towards anyone, Ratchet was the one to reply. "I'll fix him up in moment." He paused briefly before adding: "Have you two come up with anything?"

"With no way to get off the planet, and no available resources other than medical energon, we believe that it may be best to try and contact the nearest Autobot base and see if anyone is still there. Perhaps they could be of assistance."

"And if no one replies?"

"Then we may try to reboot the systems of some facilities nearby and see if we can find the location of some supplies. In order to do this, we would have to go out in the storm and search for a facility with its systems intact. That is simply too dangerous. I was coming to see if Prowl had any plans."

Ratchet finished with Topspin and stood up. "We don't have many options at this point. As you can see, Prowl did not have much luck with his planning."

Ratchet crouched next to the mech and messed around with the wires on the back of his neck. In a few seconds, Prowl's optics came online and he groaned. Ratchet stood again and turned to look at the other mechs in the room. He focused on Mirage, who was still partially invisible. "What's wrong with your cloaking device, Mirage?"

The mech deactivated his cloaking device and crossed his arms. "Nothing."

Ratchet grumbled something, then scanned him. Mirage did not snap as he usually did, but allowed the medic to scan him. Ratchet decided to scan Sideswipe as well, since the mech was being so quiet. That was not a good sign, and he also noticed that the twin was tugging at his chest armor. Ratchet was about to speak when Optimus interrupted him.

"Ratchet, perhaps you could help us with some planning," Optimus suggested as he helped Prowl to his pedes.

"Of course," Ratchet said.

He turned and walked down the hall with the others, and as they walked the sound of a familiar metal clanging could be heard before them.

* * *

 **So that was chapter one! Hopefully it was interesting, because I have so many plans for it. Please let me know if you guys like it. I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while, but life gets busy. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yo! articmadador here with Chapter 2! I want to thank Starimus for the review, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I must be doing something right, huh? Anyways, I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. Please review and enjoy!**

* * *

She stood there staring at the TV screen in disbelief. Not only was she surprised that she had found a working television, or that the news was still being broadcasted, but the words that flowed into her ears and the images she saw did not make sense. What did they mean by "end of the world as we know it", and "alien robots continue to destroy major cities across the world"? Why the hell were alien robots even here!? This wasn't real! This wasn't reality! Was it?

She shook her head and looked at the starry sky above her. It was strange that the electricity still worked in this house, though it had no roof and was partially collapsed. The air was cold, and it was not safe to be standing in this structure. It was especially disturbing since the owners of this house lay dead under debris a few feet away. She had ignored her better judgment and come in here, only because she had heard the television, and she had to come and see what was happening in the world. She wondered if she should have just kept walking. The news just made everything so much worse.

She needed to find a safe shelter. Her home had been destroyed in a blue blast of energy. She was sent flying from the building, and woke up beside a tree with more bruises and cuts than she could count. It had been noon when her home had been blasted, and now it was well pass midnight. Her home was just a mess of charred debris. No one was left, and all traces of her family were gone. She cried, then ran when she heard blasting and explosions nearby, then stopped when she could hardly breathe. So began the cycle of running, stopping to breathe, and crying. The cycle did not end until she collapsed in the street, breathless with no more tears to cry. The sound of the television had caught her attention, and now she stood before it, wondering why she was trapped in this hellish nightmare.

A whimper from behind her made her jump and turn around. She scanned the darkness, trying to find what had made the sound. She looked around for a weapon, but before she could take a step, the whimper sounded out once again from the darkness. She watched as a pitbull stepped towards her, whimpering the entire time with its head down. She signed and relaxed, only to tense up when it took a step closer. The last thing she needed was to be attacked by a dog. However, the dog showed no signs of being aggressive. It simply approached her and whined. She slowly bent down and carefully reached a hand towards its nose. The dog sniffed her hand, then licked it. She took this as a sign to gently pet its chin and cheeks, then carefully brought up her other hand, allowing the dog to see it before gently petting its head. The dog seemed friendly enough for now, and it was comforting to her to pet it. It seemed that the dog was comforted as well.

The dog wore no collar, but in the light of the TV it looked well groomed, and looking around she saw a few toys and a cracked picture of the dog with a few people on the floor. The poor animal had lost its family as well. It seemed to sport a few scratches, and as she noticed a long cut on its back, it turned and began licking its wounds. Her stomach growled and the dog looked at her and wagged her tail. She figured if she found food, it would want some as well. It would most likely act more violent in that case, especially if she didn't find enough for both of them. The kitchen of the house was accessible, and though it possibly wasn't safe to go in and look for food, she knew she didn't have much of a choice. She would find food for her and the dog, then clean her wounds and find out where to go from there. She took a few steps towards the kitchen, then turned towards the dog and pat her leg. It looked at her for a moment, then slowly approached her. She gently pet it, then stood up and continued to head for the kitchen. The dog followed, its tail wagging as the girl glanced at it and smiled.

* * *

"This is Optimus Prime. I am stranded on Cybertron along with fifteen other Autobots. We are trapped in a large building with no way to determine our location, and we are in desperate need of supplies. We send this message in hope that we may contact an Autobot outpost nearby. If you receive this message, please reply immediately."

Optimus paused as the transmitter he was speaking through seemed to emit static. The sound began to irritate his audio receptors, but he resisted covering then just in case someone was trying to contact him. The static continued, getting louder and more unbearable before it died down and the machine went silent. He checked to see if his message went through. A green light and notification indicated that it had indeed gone through just in time. At that moment Optimus heard footsteps behind him, and turned around to see Ratchet standing behind him.

"Another storm is moving in. You should get back to the basement just in case—"

"I must stay here just in case someone replies to my message."

"No, it's too dangerous. If this building gets ripped away by the storm, this machine will go with it. The last thing we need is for you to be up here so you can go too. Come on. The machine will automatically record any messages it receives."

Optimus stood and stared at the machine. He was set on staying, but Ratchet had a point. The Autobots were depending on Optimus, and as badly as he wanted to stay and wait for a reply to his message, it would not be wise to stay while a storm raged outside. He turned to leave and walked pass Ratchet, as the medic had been watching him in the doorway to see what he would do. Together they headed down the hallway, the sound of the footsteps and the roar of the wind from oncoming storm outside filling their audios.

"I never new there could be such violent storms here on Cybertron," Ratchet said. "This must be a result of our war."

"Even during the final days of battle here, the storms were not this bad," Optimus stated.

"But they were notably worse," the medic murmured.

Optimus glanced at the debris around them. He hadn't actually noticed it, but the halls were piled with broken data pads, rusted scrap metal, and parts that had fallen off of the structure. In some places there were plies of empty ammo shells, and broken guns lay scattered throughout the hall. They even walked pass a badly bent sword that was stained with dried energon. Beside it lay what appeared to be a mangled servo. Though there were no bodies in this floor, there where body parts hidden throughout the debris. Optimus had seen any horrors during the war, but when he saw an optic he faltered a step. That slight movement did not escape Ratchet's attention, and he looked at the Autobot leader with worry. He'd known Optimus long enough to know when he was greatly troubled. With the recent events, it was a wonder that Optimus was holding together was well as he was.

"Optimus—"

"What have we done, Ratchet?" Optimus asked. He did not stop walking, but continued to stare at the debris in the hall.

"What?"

"What have we done? We have destroyed our planet. We've destroyed other planets. Our war has moved to Earth, and now it is also in danger of destruction. This war…it has destroyed so much…it has claimed the lives of so many."

Ratchet stayed silent, unsure of what to say next as they began to descend stairs to the basement. Optimus was silent as well, and once again there was only the sound of them walking and the wind outside. Ratchet glanced at the Prime, and he could see so many emotions in his optics. Optimus was most definitely in emotional torment. Ratchet could only imagine how horrible to Prime must have felt at the moment. So far they had no way of getting off this planet, they had no supplies, and Earth was currently under attack. Now that Ratchet thought about it, it was almost as if they has lost the war. He then mentally kicked himself for thinking something so stupid. If the Autobots had lost, truly lost, then they would all be dead, and the universe would currently be collapsing into itself. That was a dramatic way of seeing things, but that was the Decepticons' goal no matter how much they argued that they fought for freedom.

"We'll make it back to Earth, Optimus," he said, and he believed it. Though things looked hopeless, they had been in situations just as bad as this and gotten out alright in the end.

"But will we make it back in time?"

Optimus' question went unanswered as they entered the basement hallway. They could no longer hear the wind, but they could hear voices echoing from down the hall. It sounded as if someone may have been fighting, or something bad had just happened. Optimus and Ratchet quickly approached the area where the Autobots had been staying in the hall. No one was fighting, but they were seemingly running up and down the hall while shouting a name.

"Sideswipe, where are you!?" Prowl called.

"Where'd ya go, ya glitch!?" Roadbuster yelled.

"Sideswipe!?" Jolt shouted.

"What's going on!?" Ratchet yelled over the commotion.

Jolt stopped in front of them. "Sideswipe's missing. He was recharging, then he suddenly woke up and yelled something about Sunstreaker. He took off down the hall, and now we can't find him."

"How did you lose him so easily!?" Ratchet growled.

"He must be in the halls down here somewhere, but we've been looking all over and can't find him."

"Frag! Which way did he go?"

"Down this hall and to the left. We lost sight of him after that, and he won't answer our calls or the comm links. If he's upstairs, he'll be danger with this storm coming. And if he's outside…"

"Don't think that way, Jolt. I'm sure he's in here somewhere," Optimus said as he rest a servo on Jolt's shoulder.

The mech relaxed a little, and together they headed further down the hall. Que was standing there talking to Bumblebee. The other mechs started walking up, all of them looking quite frustrated.

"I'm taking it that no one found Sideswipe?" Optimus asked.

Everyone either shook their heads or said no. Optimus vented, then opened a comm link to contact Sideswipe. At first there was no sound, then horrible static filled the comm. He shut it off to prevent damaging anything in his processor. There was a sounds indicating that he was receiving a comm, and he reluctantly answered it in hopes that no static would come through. There was static, but it was not as bad as it had been before. The static was then interrupted by a familiar voice.

::Optimus?::

::Sideswipe, where are you?::

::I'm uh…outside…:: The comm link wasn't private, so everyone heard it. They also heard Ratchet let out a stream of curses directed towards the silver front liner.

::Ratchet, please stop,:: Optimus said after a few moments.

Ratchet stopped, and Sideswipe continued speaking. ::Sunstreaker, he's here! There are other Autobots with him! They just landed their ship here and they need help getting inside.::

::And you went to help them alone?::

::I uh…I was excited that Sunny was here. Guess I wasn't thinking. They have supplies to carry, so we could use some help. The storm hasn't hit the area but it's coming fast.::

Optimus looked at the mechs before him. "Wreckers, Ratchet, and Mirage, I will require your assistance. The rest of you need to stay here."

"Optimus," Prowl began, "perhaps I should—"

"You are needed here, Prowl. We will be back shortly." Optimus opened up the comm. ::Sideswipe, we will be there shortly.::

::Yeah…I don't mean to rush you, but there's something stalking us. A lot of yellow optics…frag! What ever they are, there's a lot if them and they're closing in fast!::

::Hold on, Sideswipe, we're coming!::

Optimus and the Autobots going with him turned and ran down the hallway. They headed up the stairs to the exit. Optimus paused briefly at the door, then stepped forward and waited as it slid open. Though not all of the power was on in the building, it seemed that the backup generators were still working and supplying power to basic systems. They were greeted by cold air blasting them along with a wave of dust and other thin particles. As they stepped outside, they gazed at the gray Cybertronian landscape. The buildings lay in ruin, many of them just heaps of debris. Metal beams, sheets, and other structure parts lay scattered all around. Guns and empty ammo shells littered the area, as well as broken furniture and ship parts. Tires and doors could be seen everywhere, and there was broken glass scattered all across the ground. The sky was a dark brownish gray, and the clouds were dark gray and black. The dark gray ground was black and charred in some places, and rust could be seen almost everywhere. It looked as if this place has never been inhabited. It had, and in truth this area had been one of the most beautiful parts of this city. But that didn't matter now. All that mattered was getting to Sideswipe and the Autobots who had just arrived.

::Sideswipe, what are your coordinates?::

There was no reply, other than a yell a short distance away and gunshots. The group ran towards the sound, all of them taking out their weapons and preparing for a fight. As they ran off to the fight, yellow optics watched them go, then turned to focus on the door. They moved forward, stopping in front of the door and watching as it slid open. Yellow optics peered through the darkness, yellow antennae moved around to detect signals, and the scent of multiple Autobots was picked up by advanced olfactory sensors. The sound of metal claws clanking against the metal floor echoed through the halls, along with threatening growls as unknown creatures began to descend the stairs to the basement.

* * *

 **There's chapter two. Chapter three will be posted soon. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yo! articmadador here with Chapter three! I meant to get this in yesterday, but we were busy and I didn't get to proof read it. I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize.**

* * *

The girl sat with her back against a wall and stared at the street before her. She had never seen a war zone before, but she figured this was how one must've looked. Debris from buildings were everywhere. Cars had been crashed into buildings and each other, and trees had fallen down and been blown everywhere. Metal, glass, papers, tires, and clothing were scattered everywhere. Buildings had collapsed, and every once in a while the sound of an explosion could be heard. There was smoke in the air, making it smell foul. She knew it wasn't safe to stay here with all the fumes in the air, but right now the only thing that mattered was feeding herself and the dog.

She had become quite close to the dog in the few hours that they had been together. They had found food and left the house, making their way to an area of the neighborhood that seemed more safe. Even with the destruction everywhere, no robots were in this area, and that made it safe to her. She picked up another cracker and smeared cream cheese on it before eating it in one bite. She felt fat at the moment, considering that she had just eaten two turkey sandwiches and was currently tearing her way through a box of saltine crackers and cream cheese. Not a good combination, but it was food nonetheless. She had found dog food for the dog, and he sat beside her as he lapped at a bucket of water she had left for him. She pulled a water bottle out of a large backpack beside her and drank from it. There was an explosion not far off, and both she and the dog looked in that direction. After a few seconds the dog looked at her, then wagged his tail and continued to the drink water.

"Anthos," she said. The dog looked at her and wagged its tail, but continued to stare at her as if he were confused. "I've always wanted a pet named Anthos, and I couldn't find your collar in that house," the girl continued. The dog sneezed, then wagged his tail again. "Anthos," the girl said again. "Come here, Anthos."

The dog hesitated, then swung his head and happily approached her. She smiled and pet him, then quickly moved when the dog licked her chin. She laughed as he licked her hands and tried to climb into her lap. He then moved away from her face, his strong tail still wagging and hitting her on the arm. She gasped and reached down to snatch the pack of cracker away from the dog. He simply licked the crumbs out of her lap, his tail moving a mile a minute.

"Anthos, bad dog! Those were mine! You better be glad I have more," she scolded, though she was smiling.

This moment was short lived as a house exploded nearby and the two of them took off running towards the downtown area of the city.

* * *

"I do not follow your orders," Barricade growled. "I only serve Lord Megatron!"

There was a brief pause before Barricade went flying in the air and skidded to a halt on broken asphalt. Sentinel Prime approached him with his double sword drawn. "Your loyalty to him will get you no where! He can do nothing for you now!"

Barricade slowly began to stand up, and wiped energon from his now leaking faceplates. "All hail Megatron!"

Sentinel threw his sword at Barricade, and it struck him in the shoulder. The mech cried out in agony as the cables in his shoulder were sliced, and energon began to gush from the wound. The weight of the sword and the momentum from the throw knocked him down, and the pain only intensified when he hit the ground. Sentinel walked over to him, then grabbed the sword and twisted it to the side. Barricade cried out and struggled to remove the sword, only to have Sentinel shove it deeper into his shoulder before pulling it out.

"I am a Prime! I am your leader!"

"I do not…follow Autobots," Barricade growled.

"Don't be a fool, Barricade. Megatron may have kept you around, but you have no value to me."

Barricade growled. "You will never be as good of a leader as—"

Sentinel turned and prepared to end Barricade's life, but a blast of energy shot through his torso, forcing him to his knees. He turned around to see Megatron running at him with a blaster, aiming to shoot him again. The Prime rolled out of the way just in time, gripping his sword as he prepared to attack.

"This is my planet!" Megatron roared.

"No, this is _my_ planet" Sentinel growled.

Megatron tried to tackle him, but Sentinel grabbed his arm and jerked him forward. He took his sword and stabbed Megatron in the abdomen, then gripped his head injury and tore at the broken metal. Megatron roared in pain and fury, but before he could attack, Sentinel ripped his sword out and sliced the back of Megatron's leg. The large mech feel to his knees but was still determined to fight. He tried to whip around and grab Sentinel, but the Prime sliced his servo off. He then slammed his sword into the mech's head, knocking Megatron out. The ex-gladiator could only growl as he fell to the ground and his optics darkened. Sentinel stood triumphantly over him, then looked at Barricade.

"Look at your pathetic leader now, Barricade. He is nothing. I've fought injured minibots who fared better than he just did." Sentinel turned to a group of protoforms standing nearby. Take his body to the mothership and lock him in the strongest cell. If I find out that he is not there, I will destroy you myself."

The protoforms nodded, then quickly moved forward and grabbed Megatron's body. As they dragged him away, Sentinel walked away to head up to the control pillar. Barricade still lay behind him, glaring daggers at the Prime's back. His wound would be deadly if he continued to lay here, but some of the mechs serving under him were nearby. He did not have to give an order. Two mechs lifted him to his pedes and began to carry him to a nearby ship where medical supplies were being stored.

Sentinel made his way to the control pillar, and stopped to look around when he had reached it. The city looked like many Cybertronian cities had looked during the war on Cybertron. It was complete chaos everywhere he looked. In the sky, Decepticon fighter ships were constantly blasting at fighter jets the humans sent in. Missiles and explosions lid up the sky, and jets continuously crashed into buildings as the human piloted jets struggled to maneuver through the city. On the ground Decepticons raced through the city and terminated any organic lifeforms they found. The streets were filled with the sounds of gunfire and screams. Larger Decepticons tore through buildings, causing then to collapse and shower the streets with debris. Fires were in the ground and sky, and black smoke filled the air, making it hard to see and breathe. The ground seemed to shake constantly from explosions, and only the sounds of battle could be heard.

Sentinel was disappointed. Had the spacebridge outpost on Earth's moon not been destroyed, Cybertron would be here already. They would have been moving to the planet now and debating where they needed to start rebuilding. Optimus and his Autobots had ruined that plan, but the pillars were still activated on Earth. They could still use them to open a spacebridge, but that was of no use to them now. Their main focus was to defeat the human armies and protect the pillars. It seemed that the Decepticons were doing a fine job of that, not only here in this city, but in cities across the world. Earth would be theirs very soon. Once Sentinel took over here, he could focus on getting a new spacebridge set up. Until then, he was forced to wait until the humans' forces were defeated.

* * *

The Autobots were already in a tight fix, since they were stuck on Cybertron with terrible storms raging constantly and limited supplies. Now, however, they faced another problem. An unseen force had attacked, and it threatened to destroy everything. At the moment, not only was Optimus, the Autobots with him, and the new comers fighting with all they had, but so were the Autobots left behind in the facility.

"Keep running! If we can get to the storage rooms and lock ourselves in, we may have a chance!" Prowl yelled.

They could use no forearms at this point because they had ammunition left. Blades would not be enough to fight off these attackers. The hallways were too dark to aim anyway, and it seemed that these…creatures had managed to damage the backup generators and shut off all the power. They were running through the darkness, all of them blindly following Prowl as he led them towards the area where storage rooms were usually located. Behind them were a countless number of yellow optics accompanied by snapping jaws. Horrendous sounds surrounded them and messed with their audios. They were losing their sense of direction, and we're barely able to stay ahead of the snapping jaws.

"Down this way! Hurry!" Prowl shouted over the noise.

Everyone turned down another hall, then rushed into a large room. The last Autobot to get inside was Ironhide, and he turned to help close the door. They managed to shut the door before what felt like a thousand bodies crashed against it. There was a growl and clanging noise as Ironhide punched the door in anger. There was then more clanging as many of them collapsed to the floor in exhaustion. They had been fighting blindly for what felt like joors. Whatever had come down the stairwell after them had wanted energon, and wouldn't stop until it got some. No one was injured, though the tiny twins and Ironhide may have disrupted the healing process and exhausted themselves

"What are those things?" Jolt asked after a few minutes of everyone venting wildly to cool their systems.

No one could answer. None of them had really gotten a good look at what they had been shooting at. None of them had ever heard a sound like the one they emitted before. It was all new and terrifying. They could hear the creatures clawing at the doors, their jaws snapping furiously as they tried to break through the metal door. Even though the door was secure, Ironhide, Prowl, and Bumblebee stood against it. Their bodies were jarred forward every few seconds as the creatures beat at the door.

"Are the other Autobots out there with those creatures?" Que asked from where he sat in the middle of the floor.

"They must be. The sounds those creatures emit have scrambled our comm link signals. I can't contact Optimus," Prowl replied.

"What do we do?" Bumblebee asked.

Prowl know that 'I don't know' would not be an appropriate answer, but it was the one he found trying to slip out of his vocalizer. They were trapped in a storage room with no ammunition while hundreds of creatures beat at the door. Even if Optimus and the other Autobots were outside, they had no way to contact them and warn them. He didn't want to think about that, however.

"We wait, Bumblebee. It's all we can do."

Meanwhile, not far from the facility, a large ship sat in a storm. No one could be seen as powerful winds blasted the paint off it, and sand and dirt particles began filling vents and exposed circuits. The ship was abandoned now, just another structure left to the mercy of the storm. Not far off in a small building, Optimus and the other Autobots sat and waited out the storm. The newcomers had been Sunstreaker, Elita, Chromia, Arcee, Drift, Hound, Crosshairs, and Jazz. They had brought ammo and energon with them, and with the help of Optimus, Ratchet, the Wreckers, and Mirage they had been able to get all the supplies out of the ship and into the building. The entire time they had been firing at unseen attackers from the shadows. Creatures had began attacking them, and they could only move the supplies while a number of them provided cover fire. Now they sat in the basement of the building with supplies sitting around them as they waited out the end of the storm. Jazz took the time to explain what he and the others with him had gone through.

"Long story short, after leavin' this planet, I ended up on a planet called the Information Highway that tried to absorb me. Ah got separated from Ironhide 'n Ratchet after they rescued me and ended up back here on Cybertron. For a while ah searched for other Autobots and fought of rogue Decepticons, mostly because ah needed energon and they had it. Ah found these mechs 'n the sisters here trying ta find a way off too, but there weren't many working ships left. We had ta search through some city wreckage, but we eventually found a fixer upper. We had to jump through some hoops ta get the stuff we needed, but we managed to get it working and blasted off ta Earth. The only problem is Shockwave met us along the way, and he and his goons tried ta blow us ta bits. We ended up crashin' on some organic planet, and we were stuck with fixin' up tha ship again. Then this group called the Decepticon Justice Division showed up and tried ta dissemble us. They apparently search tha universe for Decepticons who have defected. They came after Drift, but we gave 'em hell an managed ta get away. We were headin' back towards Earth when we saw the Xantium crash here, 'n Sunstreaker stared feelin' his brother's spark."

Jazz turned an looked at the twins. They were sitting close together next to Ratchet, their optics dim as they talked through the bond. Everyone knew it was best not to bother them and give them space, though it seemed that they were comfortable with Ratchet nearby. Jazz turned to Optimus. "That's just long story short. I bet you've got more ta tell."

Optimus nodded. "Indeed."

The Prime told Jazz and the others everything that had happened. He told him about their arrival to Earth, where they had to search for a boy who held the key to Earth's survival and the end of their war. They had to search for glasses with the AllSpark coordinates on them, but the humans caused a bit of trouble before they could get to it. In the end they managed to work together, but Megatron was awakened and came after them. The battle that followed led to the destruction of the AllSpark. Every Autobot in the room that the had not been on Earth was devastated by this news, and Optimus waited until they calmed down before continuing. He then told him about the alliance that once existed between humans and Autobots, and how they had begun searching the planet for rogue Decepticons. Then one Decepticon told them that the Fallen would rise. So began a new battle when Megatron was resurrected using a shard of the AllSpark, and he came back and offlined Optimus. The government was planning on shutting NEST down then, but the Autobots' human allies worked out a way to get the Matrix of Leadership and revive Optimus. They ended up in Egypt, and Optimus was brought online in time to fight The Fallen, with the help of an upgrade from a seeker named Jetfire. After the Fallen was defeated, they began helping the humans with global issues and going after rogue Decepticons in the process. When on a mission to Chernobyl, Shockwave and his Driller pet attacked them, leading Optimus finding an engine part to the Ark. He and Ratchet then went to Earth's moon and found Sentinel and five of the pillars. While trying to protect Sentinel and find a way to receive the pillars, they were ambushed. This only served as a distraction, and Sentinel betrayed them and tried to offline Ironhide, though he did not succeed. However, he did cause a lot of damage to the NEST base and stole the pillars. The humans decided that it was too dangerous for the Autobots to stay on Earth, and exiled them. When they left Earth's atmosphere, they set course for the spacebridge base on the moon and destroyed everything there before they were chased by a Decepticon warship. They quantum jumped and ended up here on Cybertron with the Xantium too damaged to repair and few supplies.

"Frag, ah knew you had a lot to tell, but that…" Jazz leaned back and shook his helm. "And after all that you still want ta go back to that planet 'n save humans?"

"Earth is our home. We have vowed to protect it and its inhabitants. The humans never asked for our war. Without us there to protect them, they will fall under the Decepticons. We cannot allow that to happen."

Jazz nodded. "Those Cons wouldn't stop at just one planet anyway. And…if Earth is our best chance at having a home planet…I guess we'd better protect it. Whatever you've got planned, Prime, count me in!"

"Of course, but first we have to get off Cybertron."

Jazz paused and retracted his visor. He glanced around with a rather comical look on his faceplates. "Well…when tha storm ends 'n we dig the ship out of tha sand…we'll have a way."

"Nice going, Jazz," Hound chuckled.

The silver mech shrugged. "Well, uh…you're tha boss, Optimus. What's yer orders until then?"

"Well, for now we have no choice but to wait out the storm, then return to the other Autobots."

The storm continued to rage for two Earth hours until it finally passed, leaving the landscape covered in a new layer of sand and grime. The wind continued to howl, but the sound the creatures made could no longer be heard anywhere. The door to the facility where the Autobots were staying was silent, though in the storage room there were hushed whispers.

"They gone…"

"No they're not!"

"Are too! I just know it!"

"How can you be sure? They could be recharging or—"

"Man, just open—"

There was a loud growl from outside and a screech. The creatures had not gone anywhere, but were sitting outside the door and waiting. There was a clang as Ironhide hit Mudflap on the back of the helm. The smaller mech whined and rubbed his head, then ran away in a panic when one of the creatures outside pounded on the door. Prowl vented and leaned against a wall. Bumblebee, who was standing beside him, turned his head to look at the SIC.

"Well…I guess we wait some more, huh?" he asked.

Prowl crossed his arms and offlined his optics. "Yep."

* * *

 **Well, gotta go to bed now. Unfortunately school starts tomorrow, so now we got bedtimes again. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yo! articmadador here wishing it was still Christmas break. I'm not ready for school to be in, ugh! At least the first day back went okay, though most people are already fed up…like me. I wanted to go home, though I was glad to see my friends again. Anyway, I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize. Please review and enjoy!**

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Anthos plopped down and whined, then sneezed a few times and struggled to catch his breath. He carefully licked at his dirty, worn paws. His bluish gray fur was dirty and wet, and it stuck out awkwardly across his body. He licked helplessly at his fur, but it began to rain and soon he was drenched again. Eventually he dropped his head in the mud and rolled on his side, his gray eyes focused on the girl beside him. She sat with her head down and watched the fat rain drops splash in the puddles around her. Her black braids stick to her face and her clothes were covered in mud and dirt. The gray tennis shoes she wore were soaking wet and covered in mud. She wiggled her toes in the shoes, ignoring how uncomfortable it felt when the wet sock dragged against her foot. She took a deep breath and looked at the sky, allowing the raindrops to fall on her face. Anthos whined, and she turned to look at him. He moved his tail only once, and it splashed in a puddle behind him. He whined again, and she reached over and scratched his wet head.

"Come on, Anthos. Pitbulls are supposed to be tough." Anthos whined and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, but we have to keep running. They'll catch us if we stop. They'll kill us, pup! They'll kill us and keep on movin'!"

He opened his eyes and stared at her. He slowly licked his nose, then stood up and slowly walked to the girl. He lay his large head down in her lap and his tail went up again and splashed in a puddle. The girl lowered her head and looked in his eyes. She smiled at him, and he lifted his tail again and splashed it in the water. She stared in his eyes and smiled, then frowned and shook her head.

"We can't die here. We have to get out of the city. We have to get away from here." She stood up and looked around. "We gotta find a car! I might not be allowed to legally drive, nor can I really drive that good, but we gotta try! Come on!"

Anthos stood up and trotted after the girl as she looked at the few cars on the street. Many of them were damaged in some way that would make it too dangerous to drive them. They walked closer, carefully looking over the cars and checking to see if the drivers had left their keys behind in a hurry to get away. One truck stood out to the girl, and she led Anthos over to it. It was a black Ford truck, and it looked very clean and shiny, though it had a few dents on the front and sides. The keys were inside and the doors were unlocked. There was an open bag of Fritos sitting in the passenger's seat, and a few of the chips lay in the seat. Anthos helped himself to the chips in the seat before the girl picked up the bag and finished them off. She closed the door and went around to the driver's side. She threw her backpack in the back seat and settled into the driver's seat. She closed the door and adjusted the seat so that she was more comfortable. She did not know how to adjust the steering wheel, but she figured she would figure it out one day. She put on her seat belt, then looked at Anthos, who was licking at the inside of the Fritos bag.

"Seatbelt, Anthos," she said as she reached dover and buckled the dog in.

It took her a few minutes to figure out how everything worked, but she soon had the car running and was getting a feel of how to drive it. She saw that there was half a tank of gas, but she figured she would go to a gas station or garage and get a jerry can. The way they could fill the tank up on the go. She drove around a little, practicing turning and reversing. After a while she felt she had the hang of it, then turned to Anthos.

"Well, here we go. If I crash, we die together, right?" Anthos looked at her and wagged his tail. She smiled and turned to the radio. "One more thing." When she turned the radio up, she found that nothing but static played. There was a CD in, and when she pressed play the first words to Kanye West's Heartless blasted through the speakers.

"Now we're talking! You ready to roll, Anthos!?"

" _Bark! Bark!_ "

"I'll take that as a hell yeah! Let's bounce!"

The girl began singing along while Anthos barked, and she drove through the streets to find a gas station.

* * *

"I think there's another storm coming, so we gotta be quick!" Jazz called.

"Frag this weather!" Ratchet growled.

The Autobots all followed Optimus as he led them back to the facility. Most of them carried supplies and moved as quickly as they could. Another storm was coming, and they definitely did not want to be caught in it. As they approached the facility, something came into view that made Optimus stop. Everyone stopped as well, and they all focused on a large purple thing that was moving towards the building.

"It's an Insecticon!" Ratchet exclaimed.

"Eww…I hate those things!" Crosshairs growled. "Just one of 'em can rip ya to shreds."

"What's it doin' here!?" Jazz asked.

They watched as it approached the facility, then entered when the door opened. It was dark inside, so they couldn't see anything. "I hope that's tha only one," Crosshairs said.

"Optimus, do you want me to get rid of it?" Mirage asked. "I'm sure I could take it out with a surprise attack."

Optimus paused for a moment. "Very well. We will be right behind you."

Mirage nodded, and he walked with the others to the facility door before faded from sight. When he entered the facility he did not make a sound, and the others tried to be as silent as he was. They took a few steps in the darkness before there was a strange noise from in front of them. There was rustling nearby, and Mirage flickered in and out of sight. He did so to let the others behind him know that he was backing up. He didn't get more than a few steps before there was a horrendous screech and Mirage yelped as he was knocked to the ground. Optimus was over him in a nanoklik and knocked something off him.

"Run!" he yelled as multiple screeches filled the air.

Suddenly hundreds of bodies moved in the darkness as the Autobots struggled to escape through the door. The loud noise that the Insecticons emitted was almost deafening, and they rammed into the fleeing bots with enough force to knock them flat on their bellies. They all managed to get outside, and a swarm of Insecticons flew out of the door behind them. They rose up over them and began flying together and circling over the Autobots. Hundreds of Insecticons flew out of the door, but the moment that the last one was out, the Autobots were up and rushing back to the door. They all rushed in and pushed against it, and their bodies were jarred backwards as the Insecticons slammed into the door and fought to get back inside. The sound of the wind howling could suddenly be heard, and the Insecticons stopped pushing against the door. There was a pause, then there was the sound of them taking flight. The Autobots all relaxed against the door.

"They're gone…" Jazz said.

Optimus suddenly jumped up and rushed through the hall. The other Autobots scrambled to grab the supplies and run after him. He was running faster than any of them, and reached the stairs a long time before they did. By the time they arrived at the basement he was already calling out to the other Autobots. The group followed him and called out as well, and for eight spark wrenching minutes they got no reply. Then there was a faint call from down the hall and they all went running towards it. They arrived a large door where the other Autobots were cautiously stepping out and looking around. Everyone was accounted for, and no one was harmed.

"Optimus, what were those things that attacked us?" Prowl asked.

"Insecticons. There were hundreds of them swarming together. They attacked us, and would've offlined us all if another storm hadn't come in."

Prowl opened his mouth to speak, then shut it when he spotted Jazz standing behind Optimus. There were no words exchanged between the two as Jazz sat the supplies he was carrying down and hugged Prowl. The mech looked surprised and embarrassed, but he quickly accepted the hug without protesting.

"It's good to see you," he said quietly.

"Likewise," Jazz replied.

They moved apart, but Jazz seized the moment when no one was looking and gently brushed against Prowl's doorwings. Prowl glared at him, then rolled his optics and chuckled. Beside them Mirage was putting up a fuss as Ratchet checked over him. Ironhide and Bumblebee greeted the femmes, and Sideswipe and Sunstreaker sat off to the side and silently enjoyed each other's presence. The Wreckers and Jolt started sitting the supplies in one area so that they could be opened. The tiny twins were supposed to be helping them, but ended up play fighting instead. Hound joined in and wrestled the two younger bots, and Crosshairs thought he'd try wrestling Drift. It wasn't going well for the paratrooper, since he was in a headlock at the moment. For a while it seemed that everyone, even Optimus, was at ease. They opened up the supplies, which were mostly energon and ammo. They were able to sit around and drink energon, and everyone was happy that it was not medical grade. After refueling and loading up their weapons, they walked through the halls and gathered up any weapons they had dropped earlier. Any that were not broken were reloaded and packed. They would be leaving soon, hopefully as soon as this storm passed.

"So, you have enough fuel to get us off Cybertron?" Prowl asked. He and Jazz were walking behind the group and taking their time.

"Yep. Tha ship might be a little dented from our rough landing, but it's been through worse."

"Are you sure it will be able to function properly with all the sand and dirt blowing into the vents from the storm?"

"The ventilation system's more complex than it looks. It's designed ta flush out anything that gets in tha circuits and vents when tha ship prepares to take off."

"How long will that take?"

"Not long at all, Prowl. Well have plenty enough of before a storm comes through. Of course we still have to dig tha ship out."

"Dig it out!? Jazz—"

"Calm down, Prowl! All we have to do is dig tha engines out and get a good about of sand 'n stuff off the top of the ship. The rest will fall off when we leave."

"Jazz, are you sure about this?"

"Yeah, ah'm sure! And we've got plenty of bots here ta help out. We'll be fine."

They had arrived at the bottom of the stairs and began making their way up. As they reached the top of the stairs and walked to the door, they could still hear the wind howling outside. They stood around for a while, most of them checking their weapons and organizing the supplies they had left over so that they would be easier to carry. As soon as the wind died down, Optimus opened the door and they began to make their way to the ship. When they arrived at where the ship was, most of it was covered by sand and dirt. The ship had a slight dome shape, so most of the sand and dirt gathered on the sides instead of on top of it. The Wreckers took the job of climbing up the engines and clearing the debris off of them. Both pairs of twins helped them do this while most of the others pitched in or carried the remaining supplies inside. Meanwhile inside the ship, Jazz hopped in the pilot seat and checked the ship's systems.

"Once they get that stuff off the engines, we should be good to go. Fuel levels are up, navigation systems are go, and—"

"Jazz!" Hound came running in covered in sand. He was followed by the rest of the Autobots. "Jazz, I hope this thing takes off fast."

"'Course it does. So long as tha engines are clear then we're all set."

"So the hundreds of Insecticons charging at us won't mess anything up, right?"

Jazz stared at Hound for while, and there was an awkward silence in the ship. "Oh frag, you're serious!" Jazz said suddenly.

"Yes I'm serious! Get us the frag outta here!"

Jazz started the ship, and everyone moved around to grab onto something. The ship was built to hold quite a few bots, but there were too many bots and only three seats. The inside of the ship had apparently been completely remodeled by Jazz and the others. There may not have been many seats, but there was plenty of stuff to hang on to. As the engines came to life and the ship began lifting off, the familiar sound of screeching could be heard. Jazz kicked everything to high gear and routed as much power as he could to the engines. The ship began lifting off and Jazz turned it to get on course. The sound of screeching got louder as the boosters charged up and prepared to blast them out of Cybertron's atmosphere. There were multiple banging sounds as Insecticons collided with the ship before the boosters were fully charged.

The next few minutes were worse than any of them could've imagined. The ship began blasting off, but the Insecticons seemed able to keep up with it for those first few seconds. It was just long enough for them to latch on to the sides. Jazz began maneuvering the ship to throw them off, making it a bumpy ride for the others. As they began heading higher and higher into the atmosphere, the outside of the ship began to heat up, and the Insecticons outside caught on fire. Their screams were audible over the engines of the ship, and they began tearing the metal off the side of the ship. There was a small explosion, then warning lights went off inside. Outside the ship one of the Insecticons was struggling to hold on, and as it began to weaken from the flames and force of the ship leaving the atmosphere, it lost its grip and went flying off the ship. It did manage to hook a great deal of metal in its claws, and a long strip of metal came of with it before it crashed into one of the rear engines.

"Frag! The left rear engine it out!" Jazz yelled.

The ship began shaking like it would if they were about to lose control. Jazz leaned forward and focused. He was determined to get them out of Cybertron's atmosphere alive. They were so close now, and they could make even with one of the ship engines destroyed. It did not help that the ship was now on fire and the Insecticons had latched on to the sides. Jazz prayed to Primus that they would make it. He prayed harder when the right front engine exploded and ignored all the warning messages from the ship. The only thing that mattered was making it out alive.

Suddenly it seemed as if everything had stopped. Everything went silent, and the ship was no longer shaking or burning. They had escaped Cybertron's atmosphere, and though the ship was badly damaged, it began activating backup systems and rerouting energy to the parts that were still functional. This ship would not last long, but if it had survived escaping the planet and an Insecticon attack, it could survive a little space travel. Behind Jazz, every Autobot let go of whatever they had been holding on to, and most of them the collapsed on the floor. Prowl staggered around for a moment and came to stand behind Jazz. The silver mech just turned to him with a smug smile on his faceplates.

"Told ya we'd be fine."

Prowl narrowed his optics. "Frag you."

* * *

 **So there you go! Also, don't worry this isn't going to turn into a romance. Jazz keep your servos to yourself (just kidding, please annoy Prowler some more). I'll have chapter 5 out soon! I actually can't wait to start writing it! Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Yo! articmadador here posting chapter 5 sooner than I thought I would. Guess I was more excited to write this than I thought. I do have big things planned for this story, so I guess that's why. I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize. Also, I don't own the character Xvan. She's an OC created by Sapphire-Starz17 whom I have permission to use. Now on to the story! Please review and enjoy!**

* * *

The girl pulled into a gas station and parked the truck. Just as she was about to open the door, three people ran out of the store with bags in their hands. Anthos jumped up in the window and started barking wildly. The girl knew that if she opened the door and let him out, he would chase after them. She turned the car on to roll down the windows a little, then waited until he bounded in the back seat before jumping out and closing the door. Anthos pushed against the door and whined.

"It's okay, Anthos. I gotta get some stuff and I can't have you attacking anyone or running off. Just lay low, okay?"

She tried to ignore how sad he looked, and continued walking even after Anthos began to howl mournfully from inside the car. She went inside the store and looked around. The shelves were knocked down, and products lay scattered on the floor. The cash register lay broken on the floor, and a few coins lay around it. Smashed boxes of cigarettes littered the floor along with broken chips, crushed candy, and puddles of spilled soda, water, and juice. The girl walked around the mess and began looking for jerry cans, but she did not find them at first. She had forgotten to bring her backpack inside, so she had to grab a bag from behind the counter and put food in it. She grabbed bread, plenty of canned goods with easy open tops, beef jerky, and a good amount of water bottles. She then went to get dog food for Anthos, and just as she was heading to the door she saw a few jerry cans laying in the back of the store. She took the items she had collected to the truck, then went back to get the jerry cans. They were full, and she decided to full up the tank a little and carry two cans with her.

She had to carry the jerry cans to the truck one at a time. Once she finished, she began to fill up the tank. Anthos watched her the entire time, and even tried to push through the window. She figured that he would have to use the bathroom and opened the door to let him out. He jumped out and looked around, then trotted off to the wall of the store. While he did his business, the girl finished filling up the tank and put everything in the truck. She turned around to get Anthos back in the truck so they could leave, but all she saw was his tail disappear around the corner pf the store as he took off, barking madly.

"Anthos! Get back here, dammit!"

She ran around the corner after him and saw that he was running down an alley. _An alley of all places!?_ she thought. _He could cut his paws on glass or something!_ As she gained on him, she realized that he was chasing someone. It seemed to be a girl, and she was running for her life. She reached a wooden fence near the end of the alley and jumped it, and Anthos struggled to jump over it as well. The girl ran up to Anthos and looked around. There was nothing to tie him up with, and he was going frantic trying to dig under the fence. The girl glared at Anthos, then scrambled up the fence and hoisted herself up to look over the edge. A girl laying on the dry grass stared back at her. She was tall and seemed to be the same age as the girl. She wore a dirty black tank top and dirty jeans with holes in them. Her shoes were so muddy that the girl could not tell what they were. The most noticeable feature the girl had was her navy blue hair that was tied back into a ponytail.

"What the fuck!? Control your dog!" she snapped.

The girl was surprised at first, then realized that Anthos had just chased this poor girl down the alley and seemed intent on harming her. "I am so, so sorry!" she cried. "He doesn't seem to take well to strangers."

"What kind of dog is he!? He's fast as hell!"

"American pitbull, but—"

"You have a pitbull!? Holy shit!"

The girl laughed. "And I thought I had a potty mouth"

Anthos jumped up on the fence and managed to reach the top, but he could not get over and fell. The girl let go of the fence, then walked over and grabbed onto him. She tried getting him to stay still, and even went as far as pinning him against the fence.

"I get it, Anthos! You don't like strangers, but you gotta be nice! How can you meet someone new if you chase 'em off!? Quiet now! Hush! Anthos, look at me!" She turned the dog's head so he would look in her eyes. "Stop all that. Be still!" Anthos stopped struggling, but he did continue to growl. The girl signed in relief but did not let him go. "Hey, you come over if you want!" she called to the other girl.

The moment that the Navy blue haired girl jumped back over the fence, Anthos tried to charge at her. The girl held on to him and keep him from moving much while the navy blue haired girl stood back. "Come on. Maybe if you pet him he'll get used to you and calm down."

"You sure? I don't want to get bit."

"Well, you gotta try somethin'. My legs are starting to ache."

The navy blue haired girl took a deep breath and slowly inched forward, her eyes focused on Anthos. She bent down in front of him, and he growled and jerked in the girl's arms. The girl was holding his head to keep him from biting, but Anthos was still trying to get free so he could snap. The navy blue haired girl reached out and pet him on the head, and Anthos stopped jerking around. He growled, but as the girl continued to pet him, he seemed to calm down. He continued to growl and move around for a few seconds, but eventually he stopped moving. After a while he stopped growling, but he still seemed wary of the navy blue haired girl.

"What's his name?" she asked.

"Anthos."

"Anthos? Really? What kind of name is that?"

"One I made up as a kid. I always wanted to name a pet that."

"Well…I guess it ain't that bad. What's your name."

The girl paused. She didn't want to think of her name right now. She had been trying to forget her family, and her name only reminded her of them. She was determined to forget what she had lost, and possibly start anew. However, she couldn't think of a name to settle on, nor did she want a different name. She decided that perhaps she would just go by her last name. Last names were easy to make up, but she had a big family where there were many names to choose from. Though she wanted to forget them, perhaps it was best that she at least take the last name of the family, so it could live on.

"…Conley."

"What?"

"Conley."

"That's not a name. Maybe it's a last name, but—"

"Yeah, it is a last name."

"Well, what's your first name?"

"Don't worry about it. Conley's fine."

The other girl paused. "Well…if we're going by last names…then mine is Xvan."

"Alright then. Now that we're acquainted, I'm uh…well we...we're heading wherever the robots can't get to us. If you want you could come along…"

"Well…I've got nowhere else to go and no one else to go with. Why not?"

"Then welcome to the squad, Xvan. Hopefully Anthos won't eat you and we can be good friends."

"Yeah, hopefully. I really don't want to be puppy chow. So…are we walking to this safe place?"

"Hell no! Follow me."

The girl stood up, and Anthos jumped up and ran around Xvan. "Sweet shit! Conley, help!"

"Calm down! If he ain't snapped you yet he probably won't hurt you now."

"Well…

Xvan followed Conley as she walked back down the alley to the gas station. Anthos finally left her alone and moved to Conley's side. He followed her with his tail wagging and his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Xvan always thought a pitbull would be more aggressive looking and rugged, but now he looked like a puppy. She followed Conley to the front of the station where she stopped beside a large black Ford truck.

"Whoa, this is yours!?" she exclaimed.

"Haha, nope! Well, yes and no. Yes it's mine now, but it wasn't before. Someone abandoned it on the street and we needed a ride out of here, so…"

"Sweet…"

"Hey, can you drive?"

"Can't you?"

"Well yeah, but not very good. I'm just now old enough to get a permit, and I don't have much experience driving."

"Oh, barely legal, huh? Well, I can drive just fine. I like driving, but we could take shifts if you want."

"Sure, why not?"

Conley opened the back door of the truck and Anthos hopped in. "You wanna drive now?" she asked.

"Heck yeah!" Xvan answered before she opened the door and hopped in the driver's seat.

Conley got in and reached behind the seat. She pulled up the bag filled with the food she had gotten from the gas station. "Why not have some breakfast first, huh?"

"Yeah, I'm starving!"

While Xvan pulled out food, Conley reached through the back seat and opened the bag of dog food. She realized she hadn't brought a container to put it in, then shrugged and dumped a few handfuls on the seat. Anthos began eating immediately, and Conley felt bad for not feeding him sooner. She dumped a few more handfuls on the seat, then turned around and took a open can of beans that Xvan offered her.

"Kinda gross eating baked beans like this, huh?" Xvan asked before she began eating out of her own can.

"Yeah, but food is food! So long as we don't die, well be fine!"

They looked at each other then started laughing. As soon as they finished eating, Xvan started the car. The Kanye West CD began playing, and Anthos started barking in the backseat. "Hey, do you have any BMTH?" Xvan asked over the music.

"Any wha!?" Conley asked.

Xvan reached for the radio to turn the music down, but Anthos lunged forward and growled. Xvan yelped and put the car in reverse. "Never mind, we'll look into it later! Let's just hit the road! See Anthos!? We're going!? I won't touch the radio, just don't eat me!"

Anthos barked and settled down again while Conley laughed and leaned back in her seat. They then began their ride to an unknown destination.

* * *

Sentinel was proud of the Decepticons. They were meeting the humans' resistance head on and defeating them with ease. He may have been a murderous manic, but Megatron knew how to raise and maintain an army. Even the most incompetent of his troops got the job done, and they did it without fear. They were disciplined and followed orders to the end. Though he had met some resistance from the Decepticons when he took over, as soon as they saw Megatron's state they all began to follow him without question. Sentinel made sure of that, and any Decepticon that questioned him was put in their place.

Sentinel did not see himself as a Decepticon, nor did he ever use the word to address them. He usually called them Cybertronians or soldiers. Sure, he was allowing the Decepticons to kill thousands of humans across the world, but it was only to ensure that the remaining population of humans would not be able to fight back and would serve Cybertronians when the time came. He had heard the Autobots and their human allies say "no sacrifice, no victory", and that was quite true in this case. The humans fighting back had to be dealt with before plans could progress any further. Unfortunately for them, it meant they would have to die.

Time passed quickly on this organic planet, and in a few weeks Sentinel had found himself quite comfortable ruling the Decepticons. He was not as ruthless as Megatron had been, but he was firm and quite cruel at times. Though all of the human forces had not fallen yet, the Decepticons were meeting little resistance at this point. Many humans who weren't fighting had retreated to safer places. It seemed that the Decepticons had mostly taken over large cities. Rural areas, forests, desert villages, and many other places that had a low population of people or were mostly inhabited by wildlife were safe places to go. In some smaller and more remote cities people were also quite safe. In some areas of certain countries, people had not even seen the robot attackers. From what they could see, there was nothing going on at all. However, everyone was affected in one way or another, and life quickly became more complex for the humans.

Sentinel did not care about the humans in hiding at the moment. There were other problems to deal with, like energon. In fact, energon would soon become a major problem if it was not dealt with. Earth was rich with energon deposits, but they had no clues on where to look. Cybertronians could not run on the primitive fuel humans used for their machines, and they could only last so long without energon. They were in luck, because with Shockwave around there was a possibility that he could make synthetic energon, or possibly even make a new energon source. Sentinel saw why Megatron had so much faith in the scientist, as he found that he was also quite fond of him. It surprised Sentinel that Shockwave had put up no resistance room him taking command, and when he questioned him, Shockwave simply replied that there were many tasks at hand to keep the Decepticons busy, and the time to worry would be when too many of their problems were solved. That answer had not settled well with the Prime, but he was forced to overlook it when Shockwave announced that he had a way to make a new source of energon. Sentinel had asked how, but Shockwave would not give him a direct answer. His only reply was that he had to leave Earth, and he would be gone for some time. Until then, the Decepticons would have to utilize whatever sources of energy they could find.

Sentinel had not been pleased, but with few other options to consider, it seemed that he had no choice but to let Shockwave leave. The Decepticons had energon reserves, but those would not last for long. They would have to find a way to obtain energon from Earth itself. Shockwave had left his pet Driller behind, and they had the supplies that they needed to mine energon. They just needed to start looking for a place to mine, and the best way to do that would be to send out scouts. Sentinel had confidence that they would succeed. In fact, he seemed to be quite confident that the Decepticons could succeed in anything they did at this point. What could possibly stop them? It was foolish to think this way. Not everyone was loyal to Sentinel, especially not those who felt that they were cheated out of their chance at leadership.

* * *

 **Hmm, seems like Sentinel might want to watch his back. Anyway, chapter six will be coming soon! Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Yo! articmadador here saying sorry it took me so long to post this chapter! I got writer's block towards the end of the week, then when I did have ideas, I couldn't write them down at first because it was a busy weekend. But, I did it! Here's chapter 6 for ya! I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize. Also, Xvan belongs to Sapphire-Starz17. Please review and enjoy!**

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"Turn up the lights in here, baby! Extra bright-"

" _Bark! Bow-roooooooooo_!"

"Turn up the lights in here baby! You know what I need, want you-"

" _Bow-rooooooooooooo_!"

"Fast cars, shooting stars!"

" _Bark! Bark! Bow-roooooooooooo_!"

"Okay Anthos, we get it! Our singing sucks!"

Conley and Xvan laughed and Xvan turned the music down. They were on the open road and still had no idea where they were going. They were simply following the road and going where ever it took them. So far they had seen very few cars full of people and some people walking on the side of the road. There were some places where trees and grass we were fire. Jets had flown pass a few times, but they did not seemed to notice the humans below them. They were safe on this open road for now.

"Hey Conley?" Xvan asked as she rolled the window up to keep the wind from blowing in her face.

"Yeah?"

"You do realize that this is the end of the world as we know it, right?"

"Well…yeah. It seems like society has collapsed 'n shit. Everyone's not dead, but…guess it's just anarchy."

"Uh, I don't see any purge shit going on. Nobody is running around burning buildings and killing people. Except those robots…"

"Anarchy doesn't mean people start rioting and stuff. It just means that there is no established government. No presidents or monarchs or whatever."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Xvan continued to stare out the window. She watched as trees and patches of grass passed by like a green blur. It looked beautiful as the sun shined down on everything. They zoomed by a few people walking on the side of the road. Even though they passed in a matter of seconds, Xvan could see that there were two adults and two children. She could only imagine what they had gone through and how they must've felt.

"Hey Conley, I know you're sensitive about this but…what happened to your family?"

Conley paused and switched lanes to avoid a dead animal on the road. "Well…I guess they got burned up in the building after the explosion."

"What about other family members? Didn't you look for them, or try to contact them?"

"Well…no. I didn't even think about it."

Xvan's eyes widened and she looked at Conley. "Why not!? You could be with them right now!"

"Family troubles. We didn't always get along and being with them through this would only make things worse."

"Oh…" Xvan looked forward at the road. It was such a beautiful sunny day, and you would never expect that society had collapsed. There was not a single cloud in the sky, and it was such a brilliant blue. It was a warm day too, though that meant it was hot in the truck and they were mostly riding with the windows down. They had been traveling for a few weeks now, and this had been to warmest day so far. They had been living in the truck, deciding that most of the places they went pass weren't worth the time since they were having fun traveling. They were getting sick of it always raining or being a chilly, cloudy day. This sunny day was a relief.

"What about you, Xvan?" Conley asked, breaking Xvan from her thoughts.

"Me? Well…a robot wiped out my family. My family is small and the relatives I knew lived in the same county. I searched for them, but I couldn't find anyone. Most of their houses were destroyed anyway." Conley was quiet, and Xvan said nothing else for a while. "What about Anthos? Is he your dog or…"

"No, he wasn't at first. I got knocked out when my home exploded. When I woke up I wandered around for a while until I heard the TV on in a partially smashed up house. I was watching the news when he came up behind me. He didn't try to attack me at all. I guess he was just as lonely and scared as I was. I couldn't stand to leave him alone, and he followed me everywhere I went. I named him Anthos that very day, and he's been my side ever since."

"So…he lost his family too?"

"I stood next to their bodies as I watched the news."

"Damn Conley…that's messed up. We haven't realized just how messed up this is. Giant robots are invading our planet for fuck's sake!"

"Not are, have invaded. They're already—"

"It doesn't matter! This is fucked up, Conley! Because of those damn robots, we're orphans now! For all we know, we may not have another living relative! We'll never have a normal life now! Life as we know it is ruined! We won't get to finish school! We'll never graduate, or start a career! Hell, we probably won't get to have families…"

"Well…I don't know about you but I wasn't exactly content with my way of life. Don't get me wrong, I was a lucky kid and kind of spoiled. I had good friends and enough good experiences, I guess. It was society and the way things were that I didn't like. I wasn't content with what the future had in store for me. But with these recent events…I mean, I am crushed that my family is gone and everything I've ever known has probably been destroyed, but I see this as a new beginning. Focusing on what's happened and what I've lost will only make things worse. For me, it's better to look ahead and see this as a new start. That's the way I see it."

Xvan was quiet for a while, then looked at Conley. "You know what, maybe you're right. Maybe this is a new beginning for me and you, and other people all across the world! Maybe—deer! Oh crap, watch the deer! Hit the brakes!"

"Sweet macaroni shit!" Conley yelled as she hit the brakes to miss a buck leaping across the road.

They skidded to a halt as a large brown deer bounded in front of the truck, then turned to watch as the deer leaped over the divider to the other side of the road. Anthos barked wildly at it and clawed at the windows. It didn't even look back as it leaped elegantly into the woods. The girls just watched it go with their mouths open. They then looked at each other and laughed since they the same expression of disbelief. "That was one big ass buck," Conley said.

"Sure was. That's actually the second deer I've ever seen in person," Xvan stated.

"For real!? Naw, you're kiddin', right?"

"No, I'm serious. Because I've lived in big cities all my life, I haven't seen that many animals. I have gone camping before, and that's where I saw my first deer."

"Hell, even though I lived in the city, I've seen my share of animals. I love animals and nature, and we've always managed to get out in it."

"I didn't. I haven't been to the zoo since I was seven."

Conley turned towards Xvan with a mischievous smile. "Well then, how about we find us a zoo?"

"What the hell!? A zoo! No! There are probably animals lose and running around!"

"Aquarium then."

"What!? No!"

"Come on, let's go to the zoo! What do we got to lose!?"

"Our lives?"

"We'll be fine so long as we don't die."

Xvan laughed and rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Conley. Whatever. You don't even know where a zoo is! We're probably miles from the nearest city!"

"We'll find a city. Maybe we can settle down and rest for a while. We've been on the road forever!"

"A few weeks is not forever."

"It feels like it. I can't believe we haven't settled somewhere already!"

"It's not like we really looked. It seems safer out here on the road."

"Yeah, we're safe with bucks leapin' in front of the truck. Come in, Xvan! How about we look for a safe place in the next city, then we search for a zoo? Kill two birds with one stone."

"The animals might have all starved to death by now or something."

"Well…we have to at least look. Something to get our minds off all this."

"Or make it worse."

"Xvan!"

"Okay, okay! I agree…let's go find a safe place and a zoo."

"Yay! Hear that, Anthos!? We're going to the zoo!" Conley exclaimed. She heard a strange noise and turned around. "Anthos? Dammit, Anthos! That bread ain't yours! Gimme that! Aw hell, you done gone and slobbered all on it!"

Xvan laughed as Conley fussed at Anthos, then turned and looked out the window. She wondered if she could see this as a new beginning. So far, it just seemed like the beginning of the end.

* * *

"We need a new ship, Jazz."

"Prowl, ah know that. There ain't nuthin' we can do except search for a planet ta land on, hopefully one that's not hostile."

"Jazz, the ship is on fire and we are running out of fuel."

"Ah know, but there ain't much ah can do about that. We just have to make it as far as we can. There's gotta be a planet somewhere around here where we can find a ship…"

"We haven't encountered a single planet since we left Cybertron."

We'll find a place, though. Ah know we will."

Behind the two mechs, all of the other Autobots sat or stood in the small ship. It was cramped, and the ship would jerk this way and that and throw them against each other. They were quiet for now, and had all become quite uncomfortable. Not all of them really got along, and being cramped together like this was soon becoming unbearable. It seemed as if everyone stayed quiet to keep from annoying anyone else.

The ship was constantly making sounds to indicate that it was damaged. What Prowl had said was true, the ship was on fire. It was not a big fire, but it was big enough that it was causing a good deal of damage. The fuel was leaking, the insulation systems were powering down, they were really going on one engine and a weak backup, and some of the wires and cables that were important to controlling the ship had been damaged. Soon Jazz would lose control of the ship, then they would be in deeper trouble than they were already in. They had been traveling for a few weeks now, which was much longer than any of them had expected. The ship had only made it this long because the Wreckers had been able to make some repairs after their rough take off. Of course, now those repairs were no good. If the Autobots didn't land somewhere and find a new ship, they would be in deeper trouble.

The radar and monitor in front of Jazz beeped, and he took a moment to read the text that came up. "Prowl?"

"What?"

"I think we might be in luck. Kinda. Depends on how you look at it. You know what? I've got good news and bad news.

"Okay…"

"So…good news is there's a small planet ahead. According to tha ship's records, this planet was inhabited by Cybertronian lifeforms 'n was used as a military base. There should be plenty of supplies, 'n maybe even another ship there. It'll take us three groons to get there, but ah think we can make it if we've come this far."

"And the bad news?"

"If there are any Cybertronians there, they're Decepticons. It was a Decepticon military base."

Prowl vented. "We don't have many options at this point. Does the computer tell you the population of Decepticons that resided there?"

"Yeah, it was six hundred and four."

"We won't stand a chance against them."

"This data is eight stellar-cycles old, Prowl. There may not be any cons there at all."

"As outdated as that data is, that planet may be a barren wasteland by now."

"Well then, get Optimus. He's Prime, and he may as well make the decision."

Prowl was about to say something, then shook his head and went to get Optimus. He returned with the Prime, and Jazz told him about the planet. Optimus was also uncertain, especially when he heard how outdated the data was. The three mechs spent a great deal of time considering the two options they had: go to the planet or keep going and look for another one. This planet was the first one they had encountered so far, and it had taken them weeks just to reach it. This ship would not make it another week, and with the few supplies on board, they would not make it long either.

"This is a risk we must take," Optimus said finally. "We will go to the planet and see if there is anything we can salvage."

"And if there are Decepticons there?" Prowl inquired.

"Then we will do our best to avoid detection until we find a way off the planet."

"Stealth may not be an option," Jazz stated. "We'll probably have to make a crash landing."

"Then we will have to do the best we can."

And so it was settled. They would go to the small planet and search for a way off. They would need to quantum jump there, and this ship was in no shape to do that. They would be taking a big risk by just landing the ship. Jazz was right in saying that they would have to crash land, and the problem with that was they could all be killed on impact. Or, if there were Decepticons on the planet, they might even blast them out of the sky. They might be met by a hostile patrol if they survive the crash, or there may be nothing on the planet at all. They were risking everything, even their very lives by going to this planet. At this point, it was the only choice they had.

* * *

 **Sorry for the uneventful chapter. I'll try to get my next chapter out sooner, and it should have more going on. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yo! articmadador here throwing out this chapter quicker than I thought. I had to get this one out because I have ideas flooding my mind! This story is quite fun to write, but there is a down side. Whenever I'm somewhere where I can't write ideas down or work on the story, ideas pop in my mind like crazy. Then when I'm ready to write I forget everything. Ugh! But it's going well anyways. I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize. Sapphire-Starz17 owns Xvan. Please review and enjoy!**

* * *

"Don't look back, Xvan! Run!"

"I am running! Not planning on stopping any time soon!"

"Anthos! Anthos!? That sumbitch better not have my dog!"

"He's right behind you!"

"Xvan look out!"

Both girls leaped apart as a tree landed in between them. They continued running along with Anthos, and began rushing through the trees and thick brambles. Something yelled behind them, then a large object went flying in the air. Xvan looked up just in time.

"Conley, the truck! Look out!"

Conley looked up and tripped, but she rolled out of the way just in time. Anthos had to leap after her, and the truck barely missed him. Conley struggled to get to her feet, then took off after Xvan. The two girls and the dog ran downhill through the trees until they came upon a large river of sewage. Even Anthos stopped at the edge of the dirty green water. None of them wanted to go in there.

"We can't…run through that," Xvan puffed. "We gotta find…another way!"

Conley coughed and tried desperately to take a deep breath. Anthos was laying on the ground beside them panting hard. Xvan looked around, then grabbed Conley's arm. "Come on, we gotta go!"

There was another sound behind them, then there was the sound of something tearing through the trees after them. The girls began running again, and Anthos ran beside them. They ran alongside the river of sewage, making their way over the tough tree roots. It was dawn but the sun was not up to give them much light. They were practically stumbling through the darkness with very little sense of direction. They were breathless and tired, and this thing seemed hell bent on catching them.

"Come on, down here!" Xvan called.

They ran up to a small bridge and scrambled underneath. It was dark, wet, and there was an odd smell in the air. They did their best to avoid touching the water, and Anthos pushed right into their laps as they squeezed together under the bridge. They could here the footsteps of the robot coming closer, and they struggled to keep their breathing quiet. Anthos pressed his large head against Conley's chest while his body rested on Xvan. Even he knew to be as quiet as possible. Heavy footsteps got closer, and the robot stepped right in the sewage. It let out a strange sound, then lifted its foot and shook the water off.

"Damned planet," it growled in a very human-like voice.

Both girls looked at each other and tried not to gasp. The robot had talked. _Talked!_ And it spoke English! It continued to stomp around outside, and out of fear Conley grabbed Anthos' muzzle to prevent him from barking. The dog struggled a little bit, then stopped when the robot leaned on the bridge. The bridge shook and loose rocks, peddles, and dust began to fall down on them. Many of the rocks splashed in the water, and some landed on the two girls. Conley hoped none of them would land on Anthos so he wouldn't yelp.

"I know they're around here. I can smell 'em!" The robot seemed to stand still and was quiet for a while. "Frag, I don't have time to waste on some pesky organics! I've got a city to destroy."

The bridge shook again and more rocks and dust fell down on them. Then there was a strange sound before the sound of a jet taking off and the robot was gone. The two girls paused for a moment, then released a breath they had both been holding. They leaned back against the wall of the bridge, and Conley let Anthos' muzzle go. They waited until they caught their breath before speaking.

"Did you hear that thing?" Xvan asked.

"Yeah…it talked like a human," Conley mumbled.

"It said it was going to destroy a city." Xvan shook her head leaned her head back. "It'll kill anyone it finds."

"Yeah…it almost killed us."

Conley looked outside, then stood up and walked out from underneath the bridge. The sun was rising now, and she could see a little better. Anthos came out behind her and began sniffing at the ground and trees around them. Xvan came out last and stared at the sky in the direction she thought the robot may have gone. She did not see it, and she figured it must have been long gone by now. Conley began walking back the way they had come, then turned around and looked at Xvan.

"Come on. Maybe we can find something in the truck."

"Conley, it smashed the truck to shit."

"Yeah, yeah. Somethin' might have been left behind. We gotta look."

Conley started walking again, and Xvan jogged a short distance to catch up. Anthos ran alongside them, stopping every once in a while to sniff something or look around. He stayed close by, and seemed on edge. When they approached the truck, Conley signed and cursed the robot.

"Damn that sumbitch!" she growled.

"You have one serious southern accent," Xvan commented.

"That bastard bashed tha truck to bits!"

Conley walked up the truck and began to crawl inside. The structure of the truck was crushed and torn. She had to twist her body just to get inside. The wheels were gone, all the windows had been smashed out, and the doors were either hanging off or bashed in. There were long claw marks on the side of the truck that had literally torn through the metal. The inside of the truck was smashed together. The airbags had deployed, the seats had been pushed together, and somehow the steering wheel had ended up in the backseat. Conley could see a few supplies below it, but the wheel was jammed in and it was right in he way. From what she could see, a few cans had busted open, and their contents were currently spilling across the floor of the truck. Anthos' dog food littered the floor of the car, but the bag itself was no where to be found. Conley could not find her backpack, so she figured it had been left behind at the road. She cursed and crawled back out of the truck.

"We have to go back to the road. My backpack might be there."

"Okay. How about after that we see if we can find higher ground. Maybe we can see a city or something from here," Xvan suggested.

"Good idea."

They all headed back through the trees to get to the road. Both of the girls continued to go over the events that had just taken place in their heads. They had been sleeping on the side of the road. Both Conley and Xvan had been sound asleep in the front seats, completely ignorant of anything that could be happening at the moment. Anthos had been sleeping in the back seat, waking occasionally to munch on some dog food left on the seat or lick himself. He had been eating when the distant sound of jets began growing louder. At first he did not mind it, but when he sensed something was wrong he stood up and looked out the back window of the truck. In the dark, he could just see something moving. Being a dog, he acted more on instinct. His instincts told him something was wrong, and he began barking.

"Shush, Anthos…" Xvan groaned after a few barks.

But Anthos wasn't going to stop. He knew something was wrong and he had to warn them. He barked as loudly and wildly as he could, and even howled since he knew that pissed Conley off. Sure enough, his owner woke up madder than hell.

"Anthos, shut up! It's probably a deer or somethin'!"

She rolled over and let out a stream of curse words, but she didn't bother getting up. Anthos know he couldn't let her go back to sleep. He turned and struggled to get into the front seat. His large paws and claws dug right into her chest, and she jumped up with a howl of pain. Anthos retreated to the backseat and crawled up to the window as she sat up.

"Dammit, Anthos! You stepped on my damned—"

Conley froze as she saw and heard something approaching fast in the darkness. She couldn't see much of it, nor could she tell what it was from the sound, but Anthos began barking madly again. He knew something was wrong, and she felt that something was wrong too. She reached over and practically dragged Xvan up out of the seat.

"Get up! We gotta get out of the truck! Somethin's comin'!" she cried.

Xvan was up in a second and asked no questions. Conley lunged forward and opened the door, allowing Anthos to jump out. He turned around to see if they would follow, and barked ad his way of telling them to hurry. Xvan practically shoved Conley out of the truck, then jumped out and pulled Conley up before she fell. Conley grabbed her arm and pulled her along as she followed Anthos, who was running into the woods beside them. The moment they ran pass the first pair of trees, there was a loud crash behind them. They stopped and turned around to find a strange figure standing on the truck with large glowing red eyes that seemed to stare deep into them. The figure was so large, and had they been closer it would've towered over them. The girls were frozen in shock for a moment, then Anthos began barking and snapped them out of it. They turned and ran, and the figure wasted no time in pursuing them. It seemed as if Anthos had really saved them. They would've died in the truck if he had not took notice of something approaching them.

"Anthos saved our asses," Xvan said as they came to the road. There were chunks of metal and broken glass scattered all around, but no backpack in sight.

"Yeah, he did," Conley agreed as she began searching along the trees for her backpack.

Xvan helped her for a little while, then stood up and turned to face Conley. "That backpack was in the back with the other stuff, Conley. It's probably gone by now."

Conley paused and watched as Anthos walked up and stood in front of her. He stared at her and looked as if he knew she was upset. "I know," Conley said solemnly. "We've got no food or water. What now, Xvan?"

Xvan was shocked to hear how broken Conley had sounded. "We'll find a way, Conley."

"Without that car…we'll be walking for days."

"Yeah, we might but—"

"We need food and water. We haven't had breakfast, and we just sweated out practically all the water we drank last night."

"Conley, I don't think that's really how—"

"We'll die out here if—"

"Okay, enough! We can't sit here and whine like little bitches! Come on, we'll find a hill or some shit and see if there's a city nearby."

"Or we could look at that sign right there," Conley said with a smile as she stared behind Xvan.

"What sign!?"

Xvan turned around to look at a sign behind her. It read: _Sycamore, Kentucky: 5 miles_.

"Whoa, we're in Kentucky!? What did we do, go in a big ass circle!? We met in this damn state! I thought we'd be all the way across the country by now!"

"Well, we aren't. How about we head to this…Sycamore?"

"Great, some country town. They probably have no idea that the world is ending."

"Maybe, and maybe not. Hopefully we can get some food there or somethin'. Guess we better start walkin'."

"Conley, it's 5 miles!"

"You got a better idea?"

Xvan signed and shook her head. She turned and began to walk. "Well…let's get started.

Anthos just followed the two girls, his head held low as he panted and trotted along.

* * *

"This is gonna be one fraggin' rough landing."

Jazz pushed forward on the controls as they neared the planet's atmosphere. Everyone was holding on to something, all of them ready for this risky landing. They all knew what the possible outcome could be. The planet that lay before them looked dark and menacing. Apparently it was mostly a rock planet with no vegetation. Sand storms and thunderstorms were common, but only during certain times of the planet's year. There were also tall mountains that were riddled with caves and underground caverns. If they could land without dying, they might have a chance to easily go into hiding.

The ship began to pick up speed as it entered the planet's atmosphere. Gravity began doing its job, and everyone on board felt the ship beginning to fall. At first the ride was fairly smooth, and things went as they normally would. Jazz took a moment to marvel at how thin the planet's atmosphere really was. It looked like a light blue orb surrounding the planet. It was actually quite beautiful, but Jazz could not stare at it for long because the ship began to shake and alarms went off. They began plummeting to the planet below, and as the outside of this ship began heating up the ship began to rattle and shake. Everyone was quiet as the inside of the ship began to heat up as well.

A piercing siren went off as there was an explosion at the back of the ship. The last two engines had blown up, leaving them with no more thrust. The ship was now completely on fire, and eventually all of the sirens were on for a few seconds before everything cut off. Jazz found that he had no more control of the ship. He felt a servo on his shoulder and turned around to see Topspin standing behind him.

"Follow me, quick!"

Jazz got up and followed the Wrecker to where the rest of the Autobots sat huddled. "Ah lost control of the ship," Jazz said quietly.

"I know. We saw," Topspin said as he pushed Jazz in front of him. Jazz squeezed in with the other Autobots.

"What are we doing?"

"We've done the calculations, and this is the safest place to be when we crash. If we huddle here we might not all be offlined. None of his will get out with no damage, though."

Jazz nodded and pushed against the mech beside him. He saw a familiar flash of black and white, then saw Prowl's face. Prowl looked scared. "Jazz…" he said in a hushed whisper.

"Ah know," Jazz said. "Ah know…"

It seemed that at this point, death would be unavoidable. Jazz could only close his optics and wait for impact.

* * *

 **Well, that escalated quickly. Sorry I didn't write much about the Autobots, but be patient my friends, there shall be more in next chapter. Chapter 8 should be coming soon. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Yo! articmadador here saying I can't wait for the weekend! Sure I'll have stuff to do then, but at least I won't have to go to school! Most of my classmates are like: "I'm so done with school, when is the next break!?" Then there are people like me who just want some extra hours of sleep and another day added to the weekend. Is that really too much to ask? Well, at least I go to a good school where people aren't trippin' too much. I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize. Sapphire-Starz17 owns Xvan. Please review and enjoy!**

* * *

The small town sat quietly next to a river, surrounded by calm forests. The town was a little too small to really be considered a city, but it had few tall buildings. Most of these tall buildings had damage on the roofs as if something had crashed on them. The town was filled with smaller buildings, all of them small business in the downtown area. There were multiple churches with steeples that rivaled the damaged tall buildings, mostly because they still stood tall and intact. The streets were littered with papers, clothing, trash, glass, and metal. The streets themselves were gray and old, and most of them were filled with potholes and cracks. Only the main road was flat and smooth, having been freshly paved not too long ago. Some buildings seemed untouched and out of place with everything inside and outside being completely intact. Other buildings had heavy damage to their structures. Some were charred from fires, windows had been smashed, doors were broken in, or part of the buildings had collapsed. Cars sat abandoned in the streets, and some had been run into buildings. Car doors were open, some cars were turned upside down, and many had been crashed into one another in what looked like horrendous deadly crashes. There were suspicious red stains on the roads and sidewalks, many of them near these car crashes. Skid marks and even open suitcases full of belongings lay in the roads, and it seemed almost as if the city had been attacked, and its inhabitants had left in a hurry. It seemed that not even this small country town had been safe.

The sun was an evil fire demon that sat in the sky and scorched the Earth while spitting fire at mortals. This was what Conley had decided. It felt as if it was right up against her back, breathing flames on her. With every step she took pain shot up her legs and her sore feet seemed to scream for her to stop. Her back ached, and it felt uncomfortable when sweat rolled down her neck and straight down her spine. The wind was cool and relieving, and it helped cool her off to be so covered in sweat, but the wind was not blowing often enough, so found herself begging in her mind for the wind to blow. Despite how horrible she felt, and how tired, thirsty, and hungry she was, she did not stop walking. She kept going strong, and Xvan walked right beside her with just as much determination to reach their destination. Anthos was leading them at this point, even though his paws hurt and his tongue was hanging so far out of his mouth that it could drag on the ground. He held his head down, and seemed to be slightly limping. The dog was probably more exhausted than both of the girls.

They had made it, though. They had walked five miles on hot asphalt in the blazing sun and made it to the town. When they arrived, they were greeted by the abandoned town that looked as if demons from hell had run through and tore the place up. They looked around with tired a eyes and took in the destruction. Not a single human being could be seen, nor were there any animals in the area. The girls decided it was best not to search for anyone, but search for a store, then maybe a place to rest. They searched through the down town area, and found a small convenience store.

Upon entering the store, they found items scattered everywhere, shelves knocked over, and the power out. The store was large, and it seemed to contain all sorts of products. It was obvious that people had come in and taken some products before leaving town, but despite how the store looked, some of the products seemed to be in full stock. There was plenty of just about everything in the store. The girls only glanced around for a few seconds to make sure no one else was inside, then quickly made their way to some canned goods laying on the floor. Conley managed to find and open a large bag of dog food for Anthos, and the dog lay down and began to eat. He was too hot and tired to stand on his aching paws, and too hungry to care if he was laying in his food. The girls set about eating canned beans, beef jerky, bread, chips, and cookies, then went to the freezers to grab water and juice. At this point they were just eating to satisfy their hunger, and they were quite famished since they had not had an actual meal for hours. They had used the food supply in their truck quite sparingly, often eating just to stop their stomachs from growling, but never really satisfied their hunger. Now they had more food than they could eat, and the hunger on top of exhaustion made them delirious as they grabbed anything and stuffed it into their mouths. Xvan was halfway through a bag of beef jerky when she stopped herself.

"Conley…look at us," she said.

Conley looked up from where she had been eating out of a bag of peanuts. She was trying to open a bag of chips while holding beef jerky in her hands. She looked up at Xvan and swallowed a mouthful of food. "What?"

"We're eating like animals. We'll throw half of this stuff up if we don't slow down!"

"Oh…" Conley looked around at the food they had opened. Bags of beef jerky, loaves of bread, cans of beans, bags of chips, candy, peanuts, and bottles of water and fruit juice were scattered around on the floor. "Guess we did get carried away. Oops."

"Even Anthos has better manners than us," Xvan said as she motioned to the pitbull.

Anthos was happily munching away at the dog food, and he looked up at them and wagged his tail. "I dunno," Conley began, "he is layin' in his food right now."

"Says the same person who's eating three different salty things at once. We've got to wash this down with some water."

"Good idea."

Conley reached over and grabbed a dog bowl from the floor. She put it near Anthos and filled it up with water from a water bottle. The tired dog got to his feet and made his way over, then he lay down to drank the water. Conley and Xvan opened up a bottle of water for themselves and drank all of their contents. Once they found that they had satisfied their hunger and thirst, they lay back and stared at the ceiling of the store.

"Man, it don't get no better than beef jerky," Conley laughed.

"Yeah, beef jerky is pretty good. I could use a hamburger right now, though."

"Shit, I want a steak!"

"Some ribs!"

"Hotdogs."

"Oh hell yeah."

"What about you, Anthos? Some Beggin' Strips or some shit?"

" _Bark!_ "

Xvan laughed. "You miss them that much, huh?"

" _Bark!_ _Bark!_ "

"Yeah, I bet you—"

" _Bark! Bark! Bark!_ "

Anthos suddenly scrambled to his paws and charged towards the door, kicking up dog food and peanuts in the process. Conley let out a muffled curse and she and Xvan both sat up. Conley began spitting out dog food and peanuts while Xvan laughed at her. Conley tried to cuss her out, but she couldn't do that and spit the gross mixture out at the same time. When her mouth was clear she glared at Xvan, who was now laying on her back and laughing.

"Yeah, Xvan. Real funny," Conley growled as she grabbed a handful of dog food.

She stood up with a mischievous smile, but the sound of two dogs barking and the store door slamming caught her attention. Both girls turned to see that Anthos was barking and trying to get outside. There was another dog, a beautiful golden retriever, barking and clawing at the door from the outside. They both stood up and went to the door.

"Please don't be female…" Conley said quietly.

The retriever jumped up on the door, and both girls laughed. "Chill, Conley. It's a boy," Xvan laughed.

"Good. We don't need to haul around no puppies."

"I wonder whose dog this is, or if it even has an owner…"

Xvan's question was answered as a girl ran up to the door and went to grab the dog. She looked up at them, then stood up straight. She was fairly tall with tan skin, soft brown eyes, and long black hair that was braided in one thick braid. She wore a torn blue tank top, black shorts, and a pair of old sneakers. She and the two girls stared at each other, all of them unsure what to do. Then the door opened as Anthos pushed on it and worked his way outside. Conley and Xvan rushed after him, afraid for safety of the girl and the dog. However, Anthos was calm and he and the retriever began sniffing each other and running around. Conley and Xvan relaxed, then turned to the girl.

"Hello," the girl said. She seemed quite unafraid of them, but wary at the same time.

"Hi," Conley said quietly.

"Hello," Xvan said. The two girls were quiet for a few awkward seconds, then Xvan spoke up again. "My name's Xvan. Well, my last name is Xvan. We go by last names."

The girl nodded and Conley spoke up. "I'm Conley, and that precious pooch over there is Anthos."

The girl looked at the two dogs and smiled. "That's the first time he's wagged his tail in weeks. My last name is Gray, and my dog's name is Solstice."

The two dogs came bounding over and ran right between the girls. Solstice started running around in a circle, but Anthos came and settled down right at Conley feet. He was panting hard and clearly exhausted from running around. "Poor thing, he's tired…" Gray said before she looked up at Xvan. "Do you have a dog?"

"No, but I guess Anthos is kinda my dog too."

"He looks so tired."

"We just walked five miles to this city. We had a truck, but this robot attacked us and trashed it."

"You guys must be exhausted! Come with me, I know a safe place to rest."

The two girls looked at each other, then decided to take a risk and go with the girl. So Gray led them away from the store, and their dogs followed.

* * *

Energon had never felt so good. No bots in the universe could've been more happy to see it. That beautiful electric blue liquid, the life blood of the Transformer race. It had so many uses, and had once occurred abundantly on Cybertron. It was not known to occur on many other planets. Most sources on other planets had been exhausted, but apparently some still remained untouched. Of all places for a lake of energon to be, one had been right in their path.

The small lake was too small to be seen from space, but large enough for the ship to fall in. Luck was something most of the bots on the ship did not believe in, but it had been on their side. The ship, all up in flames and falling apart, had crashed right into a lake of energon. At first the impact had shocked them all, seeing as no one had expected for it to be there. They had been expecting a fiery death or something like that. Instead there was a loud splash and they were all jerked forward from the sudden impact. As energon had flooded the ship they had all realized that they may have survived the landing, but they needed to get out quickly or they would be trapped and die in the ship.

Hope can often deliver the strength to move forward. Optimus needed to get his Autobots to safety by any means necessary. So, he took action and literally punched their way out. He punched at a metal wall until energon blasted through and threatened to knock him off his pedes. He did not fall, and his fists pounced at the metal until there was a way out. Now they had to get out of the ship, escape the suction of the ship, and reach the shore. They managed to all get out, but with systems being flooded by energon, and the suction of the ship pulling them down, it seemed as if they were getting no where. They were tugged back and forth and pulled away from each other as they struggled to reach the surface. It was a good thing that Cybertronians did not need to breathe, because they all struggled to reach the surface for nearly eight minutes and would've drowned if they had been human.

The larger bots were the first to reach the surface, only because they had more strength to combat the suction of the ship. As everyone began to come up, they could see how far they had drifted from one another. Some of them swam closer to the group, while others waited until they got to shore and walked to the others. In the end, they all made their way to shore and crawled up on the hard, rocky sand. Everyone collapsed with sputtering vents as energon ran out of their circuitry and gears. Optimus was the only one able to summon up the strength to stand, and he checked to make sure everyone had made it out of the lake. Once he saw that everyone was accounted for, he found himself unable to stand again, and lay down on the ground.

There were no other sounds around them than the whistling wind. The landscape was nothing but rocks and dust. Tall mountains lay not far behind them, but most of the landscape was seemingly flat. Muddy brown rocks of all shapes and sizes lay everywhere, and no other colors could be seen. The planet had such a thin atmosphere that you could see space almost clearly, though there were a few thin clouds in the way. The sky seemed to glow a light blue that drowned out just a few of the stars, and it increased in intensity as one looked towards the horizon. There seemed to be no life, organic or mechanical. As they recovered from their struggle in the energon lake, the all began to sit up and Ratchet and Jolt made sure no one was too damaged. Ratchet was currently giving Optimus a check up and cursing him for splitting his knuckles on the wall of the ship. That's when they heard the sound of engines approaching in the distance.

"Someone's coming," Elita stated. "It may be a patrol."

"Jazz, you said the Decepticons had a base here, right?" Hound asked.

"Yeah…"

"Then there's no tellin' how many Cons are here. We're out in the open with no weapons. Even if we do outnumber this patrol, there'll probably be more Cons comin'. What's yer orders, Prime?"

"We need to get some distance just in case they have any long range weapons and get away from them. Then we can head to the mountains and take shelter there." Optimus stood and transformed, and everyone followed his lead. "Let's roll out!"

Whoever was following them were fast drivers and very skilled because they were able to easily navigate the rocky landscape. The Autobots quickly found that their tires were no use on the ground. These Earth tires were primitive, and only good for smoothly paved roads. Their alternate modes were also proving to be a set back. Though they were all wishing for a Cybertronian based alt mode, their comrades who did have them were struggling as well. Not even their more rugged designs could get them far. All their tires started bursting, and soon they all skidded to a halt. They were about to transform when the ground around them started cracking. They had no time to react when the ground gave way underneath them, and they fell down into a sinkhole.

By the time the patrol reached them, there was nothing left but a large hole. When they looked inside, there was no sign of the bots that had fallen in. They could not even see the bottom of the hole. The largest Cybertronian of the group opened a comm link.

::This is patrol two to main base. The intruders' vessel sank in an energon lake, and they have fallen into a sinkhole and are unlikely to have survived.::

::Are you certain they have been offlined?::

::It's too dangerous to check in the sinkhole, but even if they are online and do manage to escape, we will make sure that they do not ruin Shockwave's plans. Patrol two, over and out.::

* * *

 **Hmmm, Shockwave huh? That can't be good. Also, why am I so cruel to the Autobots? Poor things...I'm a jerk. Anyway, chapter 9 coming soon! Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Yo! articmadador here with Chapter 9. I wanted to post it earlier, but school said no. I finally got it done, though! I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize. Sapphire-Starz17 owns Xvan. Please review and enjoy!**

* * *

"The robots came in the middle of the night. We were all asleep at the time, then we heard jets overhead before there was crashing, screams, and explosions. The cops had tried to evacuate the city before anyone was killed, but a lot of people didn't even make it out of their houses. Those robots were attacking us, and they were laughing. They were having fun killing people and watching them run around, trying to get away. I was staying with my grandparents for the summer. The robots attacked our neighborhood, but my grandparents weren't able to go anywhere because their health was so bad. They didn't want me to be trapped and die, but when they saw how bad things were outside they decided that they didn't want me out there either. I wasn't going to leave them…"

"What did you do?"

"I hid in the basement with Solstice. They were going to come down with me, but they made me go ahead of them. The robots, I think they knocked the entire house over before my grandparents could get to the basement. Solstice and I were trapped in there for the entire night. I couldn't get the door open and my grandparents were gone. By the time we were able to get free, the house was practically level to the ground and there was no one else around. Everyone who hadn't been killed had left the city. I looked for people anyway, and when I couldn't find anyone I decided to come stay at this school, Shiloh High School. It's a safe distance from downtown just in case the robots come back. Solstice I have been here since then. We've got no where else to go."

"Poor kid," Xvan said, "You weren't kidding about this place being far. My legs are still—"

"Can it, Xvan. We're all tired, but at least we're safe," Conley mumbled.

The girls were sitting in the teacher's lounge of the school building. It was a large red and brown brick building that had been untouched by the robots' attack. Gray had led them here and gave them some of her food supply. They lay on comfortable couches and Gray had told them what happened to the town.

"Have them robots been back?" Conley asked.

"No, but I guess they might one day. What about you guys?"

"Well, them sumbitchin' robots blew up my home and no one survived except me. I ran off and wandered around my neighborhood until I met up with Anthos. His owners were dead, and he was just as lonely as I was. After that we ran around the neighborhood trying to get away from the robots. I didn't think about looking for relatives. I guess I was more concerned with not getting killed by the robots. Soon we got fed up with runnin' around, and I decided we should travel and find a safe place to stay. I found a truck we could use, then we went to a gas station to get gas. That's where we met up with Xvan."

Gray nodded and turned to hear Xvan's story. "Well, my family was having game night when it happened. Our neighborhood was attacked in the middle of the night, too. We didn't have a basement, so we had to get out of there. We were trying to get in the car so we could get away, but this robot just…came out of nowhere. It stared throwing things and smashing up our house. My dad told us to run, so we did. I kept running until I couldn't anymore, and when I turned around, I was alone. I went back to my house, but no one was there and the house was demolished. I went to find my relatives since we all lived in the same county, but they were all gone too. Somehow I wandered to the same gas station Conley and Anthos were at. We've all been traveling together ever since."

"So you guys just hit the road with no idea of where you were going?" Gray asked.

"Pretty much," Conley replied as she shifted on the couch and closed her eyes.

"Guess I could've done that. I've got family on the other side of the country, and I'm sure they're worried sick about me. I was just too afraid to leave this town. Since the robots didn't come back, I thought I might be safer here than out on the road."

"You probably are," Xvan stated. "We were sleepin' in the truck when one of those robots came swoopin' out of the sky and attacked us. We would've been dead if Anthos hadn't woken us up, right Conley?" Conley didn't reply, but lay still on the couch snoring quietly. "Well, that's a good idea. Why don't we all get some sleep?"

Gray nodded and got comfortable in her seat. Soon all three girls and the two dogs were snoring quietly, and for once it seemed that they slept well with no worries.

* * *

"We should've died…" That voice was the only sound in the dark cavern. Strangely, it did not echo, but it did seem to pierce the audio receptor beside it.

"We didn't," another voice replied. "And we won't die here."

An angry Arcee glared at Ratchet as he tried his best to repair her partially crushed arm. He had few supplies and though headlights provided plenty of light, they weren't the ideal lighting. Ratchet had dealt with worse conditions, so he worked with no complaints. Arcee on the other hand seemed fed up with the entire situation.

"Why are we even doing this, Ratchet? Why are we putting ourselves through all this just to get to some organic planet? The humans don't want us there! They banished us, so why would we go back!? They can all die for all I care."

Ratchet knew Arcee well enough to know that she did not mean that, but he also knew it was best not to say so aloud. Arcee definitely needed to vent, and he would not interrupt her. Everyone else was a good distance away from them making plans. Arcee could say whatever she wanted without everyone else overhearing her and getting offended.

"There are other planets. There are Cybertronians out there who need our help. Why should we care about those little organics!? Why is Optimus making us go back!?"

Ratchet did not reply and struggled to work on some displaced wires in Arcee's arm. He knew she was uncomfortable, especially when he saw how twisted some of the wires were, but she did not show that she was in pain. She seemed too focused on what she was thinking.

"He's only looking out for the good of humans! And we're blindly following him back to that planet!"

Ratchet bit back a rude comment and continued working. Arcee glared at him through narrowed optics. "I don't know why I'm saying this to you. You'd follow Optimus into the sun. If he jumped into a black hole, you'd follow him." Ratchet's servos stopped moving and he growled at her, but then he continued to work as if nothing had happened. He could feel Arcee staring at him, but he would not look up at her. She glared at him for a while, then watched him when he stood up and walked away.

"Those repairs should hold up for now," he called over his shoulder.

He focused on the group in front of him. They were listening to Prowl explain a plan at the moment. Optimus stood beside him, giving the mech full attention. Arcee's harsh words echoed in Ratchet's processor and he resisted the urge to turn around and face her. He instead look around in the cavern. He could see brown stalactites and stalagmites as well as the layers of mineral deposits that an Earth cave would have. It was cold and wet down here as well, and so uncomfortably dark that if the Autobots hadn't had their headlights on, they would not be able to see a thing. The ground was smooth, so walking wasn't a problem. There was also plenty of space to move around, so they weren't cramped together. The air was still, which was unnerving, and the only natural sound was that of dripping water.

"—if we can find a passage to a high point, we may be able to see a patrol, dirt road, outpost, or possibly a base," Prowl was saying.

"If we do see a patrol, will we follow them to their base?" Ironhide inquired.

"Yes, though we will most likely have to do a lot of tracking. If we can manage to follow them back to their base, then we'll scout out the area and collect as much information as we can. They may or may not have a ship, but they will most definitely have supplies that we need."

"Then it's off to Earth." Chromia commented. She did not sound very enthused about the idea of returning to Earth, but it seemed that only Ratchet took notice of that.

"We will have a lot of traveling to do, seeing as our alternate modes will no longer be of use to us. We should head through the passage before us and see if we can either find a way above ground or find a path that leads uphill."

Everyone stood and turned to start walking up the passage. It was a large hole in the wall that they would all fit through with ease. Ratchet glanced behind him to be sure that Arcee was following them as the group moved along. He could see her optics were dim as she talked to her sisters through their bond. He turned away, her words almost burning in his audios. They began to disturb him, and he started wondering if they really were blindly following Optimus. No, that couldn't be entirely true, especially not since Optimus did have their best interest at heart. As their Prime he led them to battle, but as their leader he was leading them to a new home. He believed that Earth was their best hope at finding a new home. All of the Autobots had been on countless planets and had interacted with countless alien races. Out of all those places, Earth has been the only place where they had been welcome by most inhabitants. Some humans had wanted them there, and it was not entirely the public's choice to banish them. Ratchet remembered hearing that humans had been protesting at the capital on their behalf. There had also be some backlash from NEST and other military branches. Not everyone on Earth had wanted them gone, unlike how many other alien species had tried to keep them from even entering their solar systems.

Ratchet continued his deep thoughts, but they all served to make him feel worse. Arcee's words still bothered him, but not as much as before. No, he would not follow Optimus into the sun or a black hole. He wouldn't follow anyone if they were crazy enough to do that. But he would follow Optimus back to Earth. At this point, there was no where else to go. Earth was their best shot at a new start, and they had sworn to protect humanity. Ratchet didn't want to think what the humans were going through at this moment. But then, maybe this is what they needed to realize that the Autobots were their greatest allies. They had not been plotting to betray the humans, they had meant them no harm, and without the Autobots, the humans were no match for the Decepticons. Of course, it seemed that no matter how many times this was repeated the humans just would not believe them. Perhaps this would finally get it through their heads. Perhaps they would finally understand. That is, if there were any humans left when they got to Earth.

Ratchet had more time to think, definitely too much time in fact. They walked on and on for what felt hours. It was very uncomfortable to navigate the rocky passage ways. Water dripped constantly from overhead and randomly splashed on their armor. Ratchet lost count of the number of times that the mineral-rich water had splashed in his optics. His frame was not a slender one, and that made it even more difficult to squeeze through tight passages. The ground was slick in some places, and many of them slipped and stumbled. At one point Skids and Mudflap had gotten into a fight while walking and knocked Evac over, leading to the poor mech getting stuck between stalagmites. They lost a lot of time getting him unstuck, and he received some damage from the fall. After Ironhide practically knocked the Twins to bits, they stayed quiet and out of trouble for the rest of their time in the caves. That seemed to be the beginning of their troubles. The larger bots got stuck quite a few times, Crosshairs and Sunstreaker fell down into a pit and had to be pulled out, and the roof collapsed at one point and pinned Topspin and Jazz under a pile of dirt and rock. Luckily no one was too damaged, and they were able to get through the rough spots. Now they were trying to get Optimus through a particularly tight spot. He managed to get through, but lost his balance and fell into a rock wall. The entire cavern seemed to shake, then the wall began to crumble away to reveal a smooth underground road on the other side. For a few seconds everyone just stared at the newly revealed passage, then Optimus carefully stepped onto the smooth road. He looked both ways and listened for a moment, then motioned for everyone to follow.

The road was wide, and though it appeared to be smooth it was actually very worn. It led up a slight hill and curved in the darkness, seemingly going uphill after the curve. It here were no signs to mark where it led, nor to warn of the sudden curve. It didn't matter to the Autobots at this point, as Optimus began to lead them up the road. It would've helped if they could have used their alternate modes, especially since the ceiling was uncomfortably low. It did help that there were no stalactites in their way and the walls were actually quiet smooth. They traveled uphill on the smooth road until their frames ached and they could barely hold their footing on the steep road. Optimus then found an opening at the end of the road and quickly led everyone out.

Cool wind blasted them on the faceplates, then heavy raindrops began to fall on them. They found that they were very high up, possibly on the side of a mountain. The landscape stretched out below them, showing nothing but flat land for miles and tall mountains on the horizon. The sky had darkened as if it were night time, but the clouds blocked out any stars. There wasn't much to see, other than what lay just before them. At the bottom of the mountain lay a large base. It was partially buried in rock and dirt, and it looked almost deserted. Only the tire tracks leading away from it gave it away.

"Primus…we found a base," Jazz said in disbelief. "We really got lucky."

Optimus put a servo over his chest. "The Matrix…"

The Matrix was pulsing so loudly in Optimus' chest that the other Autobots would've been able to hear it had it not been so loud outside. It was reacting to something that was close by. Optimus knew they would have to find whatever was making it react this way. "There is something important in this base. We must find out what it is." Optimus then led the Autobots back inside the cave, and there they devised a plan to infiltrate the base.

* * *

 **And there you go. Chapter 10 will be coming soon, though I doubt any sooner than this one. Hey, I'll do my best. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Yo! articmadador here finally getting this chapter posted. I just finished this yesterday because school is killing me. Even if I don't have homework, I'm still tired. Guess I should stop staying up pass ten to watch Transformers. What can I say, I'm a dedicated fan. Anyway, I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize. Sapphire-Starz17 owns Xvan.**

 **Also, in response to the guest review I received a while back, I will accept a few OCs if people really REALLY want me to use them. I don't need that many, but I'll except a few. The only requirements are that you must sign in so I can credit you, and you MUST PM me the information. I need the character's first and last name, physical description, favorite animal (must be a land mammal, though I will except birds), and one special ability or power the character has. That being said, please review and enjoy!**

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The sun blazed overhead and seemed to beat down on the red and brown brick building that was Shiloh High School as it sat alone on a small hill surrounded by dense woods. In reality, it was in a valley, and two larger hills sat on each side of it. You could only tell this when you stood on top of one of the hills, but even then it was hard to see due to the thick woods. Shiloh High looked like a high school built in a big city instead of a country town. It had the standard large windows and doors, and it had a blocky yet complex architecture. An athletic center containing the gym and sport equipment was connected to the school, but it strongly resembled the main building. In front of the school building lay a large parking lot and an area where school buses could pick up and drop off students. Two faded yellow school buses still sat there in the curved path as if waiting for students to exit the school building at the end of the school day. They were the only two that the school owned, and both had been kept in good condition. The parking lot was nearly black as if it had been freshly paved a while back, but there were no markers to separate parking spaces. A tall flag pole stood in front of the school, but for some reason the top of it was missing and the flags that had once been there were gone.

The inside of the school was clean, almost spotless. The hallway floors were made up of steel gray tiles that were a darker gray in the classrooms and cafeteria. Only the teacher's lounge, counselor's office, and the main office had a dark blue carpet on the floor. The walls were all painted white, except for in the cafeteria, where a thick crimson and black horizontal stripe had been painted across the walls. All of the rooms in the school were fairly large, and everything was so neat, clean, and organized. The school seemed a little out of place in the small town, especially now that everything around it was mostly a wrecked mess of ruins.

Conley had walked all throughout the school with the dogs and had taken in as many details as she could of each room and area. She had walked in every classroom, office, and even peeked in every closet. She had explored in the athletic building and remembered every interesting thing she had found. She had played with the dogs outside in the parking lot and climbed around on the buses. She and the dogs then explored the woods surrounding the park, finding every hidden path that they could and finding all kinds of hidden treasures. She watched the squirrels run around in the trees, and the birds singing and flying around, and the beetles and other insects as they crawled around and buzzed in her ears. She climbed trees and looked all around her, then ran and jumped around in the mud and dirt. She observed the ants in the trees, and beehives in the trees that dripped sweet honey. She looked at the white mushrooms growing on rotten logs, and the soft moss growing on the ground. She watched a spider spin part of its web, then watched as Anthos tried to eat a turtle, but failed miserably. She placed the turtle in some soft mud away from him after the whole ordeal, then quietly apologized for any damage done to its shell.

The dogs chased the small animals, barked and howled at nothing, wrestled in the mud, and scratched and sniffed at everything. They would run around and chase each other, then go to Conley and jump on her. She would sometimes throw a stick for them, or show them something she found like a shiny rock or strange insect. They would follow her for a while, then run off while playing, then find her again. They all wandered around and explored until the dogs were covered in mud, leaves, and small twigs, and Conley was covered in dust and leaves. They took few breaks simply because they were enjoying themselves too much to realize if they were tired. When they finally did stop and rest, Conley would sit still and look around while the dogs lay beside her and listened to the forest sounds. Conley listened as well, enjoying the sounds of the wind blowing the leaves in the trees and the birds still singing their hearts out. She could hear a deer somewhere, and squirrels chattering in the trees, and a familiar voice calling out for her and the dogs while cursing madly.

"Xvan!" Conley called. "Over here!"

Conley could hear her friend running through the bushes and letting out a stream of curses. The two dogs jumped up upon hearing her and ran over. In a few seconds Xvan came stumbling through the bushes as the dogs jumped up on her. She managed to push them off and crawl over to Conley, then Gray came through the bushes. The dogs ran away from Xvan and tackled her. Xvan glared at Conley, then punched her in the arm.

"Ow, what the hell!?" Conley whined as she crawled to her feet and rubbed her arm. "Why did you punch me so damn hard!?"

"I though you died, you dumbass!"

"I wasn't dead! I was just explorin' nature with the dogs!"

"You ever heard of leaving a note!? We've been searching everywhere for you! When did you leave!?"

"This mornin' while y'all was still asleep. It was still dark and I had to pee. I went to the bathroom and the dogs came with me, and I ended up explorin' the school. Then I figured they needed to use the bathroom too, so I brought them out here."

Xvan shook her head. "Next time just…let us know, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

"I mean it, Conley!"

"Okay, okay!" Conley turned and started walking deeper into the woods. The dogs turned and followed her, but Xvan and Gray stood there confused.

"Uh, Conley? The school is that way," Gray said as she pointed behind her.

"I know," Conley called over her shoulder.

Gray shrugged and followed Conley, and though she hesitated for a moment, Xvan followed them. Conley led them through the forest, showing them everything she had seen. They ate honey together, then Conley climbed the tree and found a drone bee to bring down and show them. Then the dogs chased more squirrels, and Solstice tried to climb a tree to chase after one. Gray climbed up after him, hoping to get him out, but she was unable to reach a branch and pull herself up. Xvan decided she would try since she was the tallest of the group, and was able to reach the branch and get to Solstice. Then the golden retriever turned around and jumped out of the tree, leaving Xvan behind. Xvan tried to look down and see how to get down, then tried moving, but her foot slipped and she gripped the tree as tightly as she could.

"Guys, I'm stuck."

Conley laughed and Gray shook her head. "Why don't you just go back the way you came?" Gray suggested.

"I can't. I'm scared."

"Scared of what? You're not going to fall if you just go back the same way. If you do fall, you won't be too hurt," Conley stated. She was leaned against another tree and licking honey off her fingers.

"Conley, please help me."

"Okay, lemme just—whoa watch the squirrel! It's gone ape-shit!"

Gray and Conley watched as a squirrel bounced down the tree and jumped right on Xvan's face. She shrieked and fell out of the tree while the girls laughed. Anthos and Solstice ran over and began licking her face. Xvan could only laugh and choke as she tried to get the dogs out of the way so she could sit up. When she finally managed to, the other girls walked over and they looked for the squirrel. It sat high in the tree looking around and chattering loudly.

"Hell…" Xvan laughed as she stood up. "At least I'm out of the tree. Thanks little buddy!"

The squirrels chattered at them, then turned and ran up the tree. "I swear they get smarter as time passes," Gray commented.

"They can't be too smart," Xvan said as she stood up and brushed herself off. "They don't know the world's ended."

Conley scoffed. "The world hasn't ended, it's just changed. And in their case, ignorance is bliss. Don't you reckon?"

"Why do you talk like that, Conley?"

"This is tha south, you know."

"She does have a point, though," Gray added. "If the world really had ended, we'd probably all new dead by now."

"Yeah, this is just a new beginning."

Xvan leaned against a tree and signed. She looked off into the distance. "I never saw this comin'."

"No one saw this comin'," Conley murmured.

"You know, a few days before all this happened, my parents took us to a carnival. It was one of those old fashioned ones in a little town not too different from this one. While we were there, my Mom and I went to see a fortune teller. I always thought fortune tellers were so cool. They could see into the future and know what your fate was. Hell, I always wanted to be one of them. The lady was actually kinda young, which surprised me cuz I thought only old ladies were fortune tellers. Anyway, that lady told my mom that she would have some hardships. A relative would fall into trouble and she would be forced to help. Money troubles would get better in the next few years, and an old friend would come calling. You know, typical fortune teller shit. But she never said…anything…not a damn thing…about Mom being killed by a robot. She didn't warn her that they would come and stomp our house to pieces and kill almost all of her relatives. She just told her some shit she wanted to hear, I guess. But she should've told the truth. If she could really see into the future, then she should've told the truth." At this point, Xvan's face and eyes turned red as she began to cry. She began sobbing and yelling. "She should've told the truth! She should've said something!"

Xvan signed and leaned back against a tree. She wiped her tears and stared up at the sky. "I would've told the truth. If I had that gift…I would've…"

Xvan fell silent, and Conley walked over to her and hugged her tight. Gray followed and hugged her as well, and they stayed like for a while. A little while later, a breeze blew through the area and brought the scent of rain with it. It wasn't until large gray clouds moved into the area that they got up and headed back to the school. They made it back just as the first raindrops began to fall.

* * *

Sentinel sat on a makeshift throne and looked out at the sunset. Earth was a beautiful place, but it was not Cybertron by a long shot. Until there were able to get the spacebridge activated again on Earth, then they would have to settle for where they were. They had plenty of energon for now, though Sentinel was starting to scold himself for allowing Optimus to keep the Matrix in the past. He should have taken it when he had the chance, but at the time he believed that Optimus would abandon the humans and join him in bringing Cybertron to Earth. He had been so foolish.

It seemed that he did not really need the Matrix, since there was plenty of energon to be mined. Shockwave had already left Earth and was headed to a location he had refused to share with Sentinel. He had told him that he would return with a large stock of energon and information he needed to start working on synthetic energon, or some other means of energy. At this point, there was not much human resistance. Instead of killing them off, large cities were being taken over and the populations held hostage. They needed the humans to stay alive so they could help rebuild Cybertron, so it was time to stop killing and start organizing.

Sentinel knew better than to let the Decepticons sit around with nothing to do. He tasked the Decepticons in Chicago with guarding the area, killing all humans found within the city limits, and staying in constant contact with Decepticons across the world. He made some rebuild parts of the city, or fortify certain areas. They had areas were they could destroy areas of the city, train, refuel, get repairs, and even get upgrades. Anything to keep them occupied so that they would not start fighting or try to rise up against him. Besides, with the Decepticons busy, he had plenty of time to think.

He did do a lot of thinking, mostly about the war and how things could've gone so differently. How did he not see Megatron's betrayal coming? Surely there must have been some obvious signs. Megatron had betrayed Sentinel, his Cybertronian brothers, and Cybertron itself. He had caused this war for what had actually been a good cause, but had quickly changed for the worse. Soon he began fighting for power, and wanted to rule Cybertron as a tyrant. The war that followed his ambitions had not only destroyed their planet, but caused the deaths of countless Cybertronians. Those who had not died in the wars were lost to the stars. Now that Megatron was locked away and the Autobots were out of the picture, Sentinel would lead the Decepticons and any Cybertronians who would join him to rebuild Cybertron. Now was time for a new beginning. But things are never as they seem, and Megatron's followers were just as crazy as the ex-gladiator had been. It seemed that loyalty would win out in the end.

* * *

The base was like a fortress, and the only way to sneak inside was to go back down the hidden road in the cavern and enter through a back entrance. Going through the front would be too dangerous. There seemed to be no way to sneak in without being noticed. However, that was if you did not have a skilled spy who had the ability to render himself invisible. Or if you did not have a skilled saboteur who had the ability to make himself seem invisible in plain sight. Jazz and Mirage were the only ones who would be able easily get in the base, and they were going on a risky mission. Prowl was debriefing them at the moment.

"You're going in through the back entrance. Que has found a way to trip up the scanner on the door so it will open for you. Once inside the base, you will need to find out if there are any ships hidden here, or somewhere else on this planet. If there are ships here, you need to find a way to get the rest of us inside without being discovered. If there are no ships in this location, then you will have to make it back here with the location of where they may be. Understood?"

Both mechs nodded, then Jazz added, "What about that strange feelin' Optimus has? He thinks somethin' important is down there."

"Our top priority is locating a ship and getting off this planet, but if you find anything in there that you think may be causing the Matrix to react the way it is, let us know. You can contact us through the comm links, but the signal may be scrambled while you're in there. Good luck, there's no telling what's down there."

Jazz and Mirage took a moment to prepare themselves, then headed all the way down the road to the entrance of the base. They came upon a large metal door with a monitor at the top. It was dark in this part of the cave, almost pitch black. The only lights were optics and a small red blinking light on the monitor. Mirage rendered himself invisible and Jazz moved to the shadows. Mirage held up a small device Que had given him, and the monitor made a beeping noise before the door opened. Both mechs went through the door in seconds without a sound.

They entered a long, dark corridor. There were no lights, but the corridor was dimly lid because of a bright light that sat high on the wall at the end of the corridor. The two mechs easily moved down the corridor and pass the light. They found themselves in a shorter corridor that had more lighting. At the end of it stood two large mechs who seemed to be guards. They were larger than Ironhide, and they both held large blasters. They were ready for anything that came their way, but how could they fight what they couldn't see? Mirage moved pass them with ease, but the door opened when it sensed him in front of it. Mirage was able to move away as the mechs turned to see who was coming through the door. When they saw no one, they held the blasters up and began to look around. Jazz seized this opportunity to sneak by the guards. Once he was behind them, the guards turned the other way and began moving forward to see if anyone was in the corridor. When they moved away from the door, it closed behind them with Jazz and Mirage on the other side.

The two of them made their way to the opening of a large room. They would be spotted if they continued, because the path that they had been walking along led down to a lower level of the large room. They could hear voices, and decided not to go through the doorway and peek into the room. They could listen, and from what they heard they were in luck.

"Get the ships ready to move outside. Shockwave will be here an a few days, and we need to be ready to transport the relics. Get the drones to start pulling them out of the storage chamber. The moment they're taken out, every Cybertronian in this area of this solar system will be able to sense them, and of there's any Autobots around they'll start causing trouble."

Jazz smirked and resisted making a joke over the comm link. He could tell Mirage was no longer beside him, and figured he was looking around the room for a way for them to progress. Jazz waited for the mech to comm him.

::Come on,:: Mirage said via comm a few minutes later. ::I found a path where you won't be spotted. They're not looking this way.::

Jazz peeked out from around the corner and saw Mirage flickering in and out of sight on the other side of a rocky ledge. If Jazz was careful, he could move across the ledge and would be hidden by the shadows. The room was big, but the Decepticons they had been eavesdropping on were standing at the other side of the room. All of the light in the room was near them, meaning the end of the room that Jazz was in was darker. He carefully made his way across the ledge, and when he reached Mirage the mech led him through a narrow passage. For a while it became so dark that they relied only on the light of their optics to progress. The pathway was not unlike the those in the caverns, where they had to squeeze through in uncomfortable positions. After a few minutes of scrapping a good deal of their paint job off, they came out to a small empty room. It was a naturally occurring cave, but it seemed to be reinforced by a metal of Cybertronian origin. Jazz decided that now was a good time to give the others an update.

::Jazz here. Anyone on tha other side?::

::We're all here, Jazz. Reading you loud and clear,:: Optimus replied.

Jazz was a little shocked to find that the comm links to outside the base were working fine. Perhaps the Decepticons were so sure no one would find them that they had not bothered to install anything that would scramble signals. Or they might be monitoring any comm links inside the base. Jazz would have to be quick.

::Mirage and I are inside. We overheard the Decepticons talkin', and we know there are ships here. Apparently the ships are meant to transport relics. Tha Decepticons here are working fer Shockwave. According to them, Shockwave's comin' here to get them.::

The comm links were silent for a while, and Jazz started to wonder if the Decepticons had intercepted the link and cut it off. Then Optimus spoke again, his voice filled with an emotion Jazz could not identify.

::Jazz, you must find a way to get us inside, and you must do it quickly. We must retrieve those ships and the relics. We can not allow Shockwave to carry out his plans, whatever they may be."

::Understood. Jazz out::

Jazz turned to Mirage, who was now visible. "Got any ideas on where to start?"

Mirage crossed his arms. "Why not pay another visit to those guards back the way we came? They don't seem so tough."

"Yeah, but…I can't help but feel like we're walkin' into a trap with this low security. We don't seem ta be in that much danger."

"Maybe so, but for now we'll just have to take the risk of walking into a trap. We don't have that many options."

Jazz nodded. "Yeah, I guess we don't."

Mirage took the lead, and he and Jazz both headed back through the narrow tunnel to the main room. They would then head back through the corridors where the guards stood. It would be harder sneaking the rest of the bots in than just them sneaking around. In the end they may have to take the base by force.

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 **Now, I'd better catch some Z's so I won't be too tired tomorrow. I can't guarantee chapter 11 will be up any quicker, but just know I'm working on it. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Yo! articmadador here saying y'all, I am so sorry I'm just now posting this chapter. I had it done three days ago, but I kept forgetting to proof-read it. I can see that my schedule is getting crazier as the day goes by, so I'm going to try to post at least one chapter every week. That being said, I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize. Sapphire-Starz17 owns Xvan.**

 **Also, thank you for suggesting your character Bumbilus Prime, but I won't be able to use them in this story. I will use them in another story with your permission. I will credit you for them. Also, no Illusion won't be in this one, but I will be writing a few one-shot with my other OCs in them.**

 **Now, on to the story. Please review and enjoy!**

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Conley sat alone on the roof of the school building and stared up at the clear blue sky. It was a hot, sunny day with very few clouds in the sky. The sun warmed her skin, and the wind blew gently around her. She could hear barking as the dogs played with Gray in the parking lot. She could also hear footsteps as Xvan approached her. She did not turn to look at her friend, but continued to look at the deep blue sky. Xvan sat down beside her and looked up at the sky as well.

"I swear, you get to the weirdest places," she murmured.

"I reckon…" Conley stated.

"Did you just want some alone time? I can go if you want me to."

"No, please stay."

Xvan nodded and they sat together in silence for a few minutes. Xvan shifted a few times during the silence, then finally turned to Conley. "I feel anxious."

"Anxious?"

"Yeah…like…like something's about to happen."

"Something…something like what?"

"I don't know. I feel like this isn't over. I feel like something bad is about to happen."

"Hmm…"

"Maybe I'm just stressed. I'm probably freaking out about nothing."

"Maybe, and maybe not."

"What?"

"You may be stressed about nothing, or something bad may be about to happen. We can't be sure."

"Well…I guess you're right…"

"Have you told Gray about how you feel?"

"Well, yeah."

"What did she say."

"She kinda said the same thing you said. She told me we should wait and see if anything happens. She said we'd do what we have to do if anything came up, but until then to take it easy."

"Hmmm…good advice. Usually I'd say something like that."

Xvan looked up at the sky and signed. "I feel depressed."

"I'm sure. You've lost everything."

"We all have." She looked at Conley again. "How can you stand it? How are you able to go on like nothing bad has happened? Aren't you depressed?"

Conley slowly shook her head. She did not look at Xvan as she spoke, but continued to focus on the sky. "I decided to forget. I'm trying to forget so it doesn't hurt."

"Conley, don't do that."

"Why not?"

"It's not a good idea. That's bad for you. If you keep everything bottled up, you're going to go crazy. You'll lose it one day."

"Hmm."

"Stop doing that! Conley, you can't forget! You have to remember because memories are all you have!"

"I don't need those memories. They'll do nothing but bring sadness now. Leave me be, Xvan. Go away."

"No, I'm not going to just walk away after hearing you say that! You need to let this out!"

"It sounds more like you're letting your own anger and frustration out," Conley said as she finally turned to look at Xvan. "If you need someone to listen to you, to help you through this pain, then I'm here for you. If you want to be there and listen to someone mourn their own family, go talk to Gray. You won't get anything from me."

Xvan stood up. "You…"

Xvan suddenly pushed Conley over, then turned and walked away. Conley lay on her side for a few seconds, she sat up and watched her go, then turned to the sky again as her friend began walking down the stairway to go inside. Conley though for a moment about Xvan's words. She thought long and hard, and never took her eyes off the sky. She sat this way for thirty minutes, then she heard footsteps behind her. She did not even have to glance to know it was Xvan. She stood up and turned to her.

"You're right," she said to her. "This isn't over. Something must be coming."

* * *

The Autobots all made their way down the dark tunnel with Optimus bringing up the rear. They were headed to the door where Jazz and Mirage would be waiting for them. The two mechs were going to have to lead them all inside without getting caught. This would be one tough mission. While everyone was intent on getting to a ship and getting off this planet, Optimus was more concerned about the relics. The Matrix was practically leaping in his chest, and he was now able to hear it humming. His chest felt hot, and he just knew he had to find these relics. He wanted to understand why the Matrix was reacting in such a way. As they neared the door, he was jolted from his thoughts by bickering.

"Move faster, Mudflap!"

"Shut up, Skids!"

"You shut up!"

"I'll frag you up, boi!"

"Well come on, I ain't scared of you!"

There were a few loud metal clangs, then Skids suddenly went flying into the cave wall. He slammed into a pile of rocks, and the cavern began to shake. He didn't seem to notice and he charged at his twin and threw Mudflap into the wall of the tunnel. The Autobots gripped the walls as tightly as they could, but the cave was shaking so violently and rocks began to fall down from above. The ground began cracking up, then suddenly slanted and sent everyone sliding into a newly opened hole in the ground. They all began falling into a dark hole while rocks rained on them from above. For a moment, the world was completely pitch black with the sound of thunder everywhere. The tunnel had collapsed, and it seemed as if the entire mountain was coming down. The Autobots all began sliding and falling, and they were unable to see our hear anything in the darkness and over the noise.

The sound of scraping metal echoed all around as the Autobots slid down what they could only assume was a rock wall. The ground had been so far away, and when they hit it there was no question that they were hurt. Dust filled the air, and the world still seemed to rumble as rocks continued to fall. They had all been knocked unconscious, and one by one they woke up.

Optimus woke up to a bright blue light surrounding him and pain all over his body. The Matrix was still humming loudly in his chest, but it was no longer leaping like before. It seemed rather calm at the moment. Optimus then realized that he could hear a similar humming not too far away. He slowly began pulling himself to a sitting position, and paused when he saw Ratchet laying beside him. The medic's optics were flickering as he was coming online. Looking around, Optimus saw that he and Ratchet were the only bots in the area. They were in a small room that was lined with large boulders. This room must've been large before, but the cavern collapsed on it and the rocks closed it in. The floor was metal, and it was the only signs that this had indeed once been a room. They must've fallen inside the base.

"Optimus?"

The Prime turned to his friend, who was slowly sitting up and looking around. Ratchet's chartreuse armor was dented, and much of his paint had been scraped off. Earth paint was nothing like Cybertronian paint. Ratchet must've been in pain with all the dents he sported. They were all so deep that Optimus knew they were messing with Ratchet's systems. If he transformed into his alternate mode now, he would look like he had been in a horrible wreck. Ratchet tried to stand, but grimaced in pain and quickly settled down again. Optimus moved to help him, but the medic motioned for him to stay away and he slowly got to his knees. He was unable to stand with the ceiling being so low, but he was able to kneel with plenty of space above him. Optimus got on his knees as well, and he had just enough room above his head. He then turned to look at the blue glowing lights in front of them.

Four irregularly shaped pieces of metal lay on the ground and glowed an electric blue. Upon seeing them, Optimus immediately knew what they were, and Ratchet immediately felt safe. Both mechs crawled forward to the relics, but neither tried to touch them at first. Optimus then began getting closer to them. He could feel the Matrix pulling him towards it, and he felt that he had to reach them. He reached out a servo, and the light that surrounded them seemed to reach towards Optimus' servo as if they are reaching out to touch him as well. Optimus had almost touched them, when there was a thump from overhead.

"Hey, anybot there!?" It was Roadbuster's voice.

Both mechs looked up to the ceiling, and Ratchet replied, "Yes!"

"Ratchet!? Is anyone with you!?"

"Optimus! Who is with you!?"

"Sunstreaker, Ironhide, and Jolt! There's no one else in sight!"

Ratchet looked around and signed. "We're trapped down here! Do you have a way to get us out!?"

This time Ironhide answered, though his voice sounded distance. "I just found a way out! Sunstreaker, stop crying over your paint job and come help me!"

"I wasn't crying!"

Ratchet rolled his optics, and Optimus turned back to the relics. Now they seemed to be reaching for him. He reached out his servo again, but was compelled to open his chest plates. He resisted and tried his best to ignore the Matrix thrumming wildly in his chest. When he touched one of the relics, the light faltered for a second, then it began to glow brightly. It felt hot, but when he picked it up it cooled down. He slowly picked the rest of them up and cradled them in his arms. They were trying desperately to speak to him, but he could not understand them.

"Optimus!" The Prime turned around to see Ratchet being pulled through a hole in the ceiling by Ironhide. The medic was the one who had called Optimus. "Come on. Bring them with you."

Optimus nodded, then crawled as best he could to the hole in the ceiling. Ratchet was up and had turned around to help Optimus through. Optimus handed him the relics, and Ratchet hesitated before taking the first one. When he touched it, he seemed to shudder, then after a few seconds he reached for the other ones. When he held them all, he stepped back while the other mechs helped Optimus up. Once Optimus had scrambled out of the hole, Ratchet slowly and carefully handed the relics back to him. The Prime held them close while the Matrix leapt wildly in his chest. It wanted him to open his chest plates, but he felt that he couldn't do that. Not yet.

Optimus' attention was torn away from the relics when something blasted through the wall opposite of them. Rocks and dust flew out towards them, and when the dust settled, they could see Hound, Crosshairs, and Mirage standing there. There was a pause, then Hound smacked Crosshairs on the back of the helm and made him tumble forward. Crosshairs had been holding a large blaster, and it fell from his servos as he tried to gain his balance. He then tripped over it and landed on his aft.

"You slagger! You coulda killed somebody!" Hound growled.

"But I didn't, 'n here we are!" Crosshairs replied with a grin. "Toldja I'd find the others."

Hound picked up his blaster and placed it on his back. "This blaster is our only weapon, and now instead of having two shots left, it's got one!" He then looked at the relics in Optimus' arms. "Oh, you found some too, boss?"

He turned back to the tunnel, and Elita and Jolt came through. They both carried three relics in their arms. They walked over to Optimus and stood beside him. Energy reached out from the relics in their arms to touch energy with the ones in his arms. For a moment everyone was silent, and they stood still while watching the energy flow. A noise behind them interrupted the silence. They turned to see Topspin standing in the path Crosshairs had made. He looked as if he had been running from something, and he held a gun in his servo.

"We have to go! The Decepticons know we're here!" he said. "We've just found a ship that can get us out of here." He looked at the relics the others were holding. "We've got two of those relics with us."

Everyone turned to Optimus and followed him as he took off after Topspin. The mech led them though a large passage, then through a narrow opening in the cave wall. They then had to go down a rocky slope that opened up to a large cavern. The roof had caved in, and cool air and rain came in through the large hole. Three large ships sat in the middle of the cavern, and the Wreckers and Tiny Twins were standing near one ship. They were suddenly assaulted by gunfire, and the sound of voices could be heard. Optimus led his group to the ship while the Decepticons shot at them. One well aimed shot knocked Optimus off his pedes. Most of the other Autobots stopped to help him.

"No, keep going! Get on the ship!" he yelled.

Most of them ran to the ship, though Ratchet stayed to help Optimus gather up the relics. Ironhide stayed as well and stood in front of them to block some of the shots. A large group of Decepticon came running up behind them, and Ironhide was shot multiple times in his back. He and Ratchet turned and fled while Optimus ran behind them. The Matrix still leapt in his chest, though now it began pulsing in such a way he had never felt before. He could almost hear it begging him to open his chest plates, and as he tightly held the relics and ran for the ship, he found them trying to open against his will. The Autobots were now shooting back at the Decepticons, and Jazz, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker were running back to help Optimus. They reached him and took a few relics from them. They were quickly approaching the ship, which was now running and ready to go.

At the last minute, a large blast hit Optimus and knocked him down. The pain was overwhelming, and when he fell to his knees his chest plates opened. Everyone was suddenly blinded by a bright blue light, and the relics were all encased in bright orbs. A loud noise similar to a metallic ringing emitted from the Matrix, then the relics suddenly shot up in the sky and left the atmosphere of the planet. They all watched them go, then a bright blue light blinked them again. When the light faded, the Decepticons had fled into the caves and Optimus was unconscious on the ground. His Autobots carried him to the ship, then they began to take off and leave the planet.

* * *

 _The Matrix had told the destination. The last place the AllSpark had been. It was no longer in its physical form, but the knowledge had been carried by the human. He was gone now…where is the AllSpark? Where is the Allspark? Go to the last place it had been, the energy can not be destroyed. Find its energy and seek it out. Go to Earth, Oh Primes, go to Earth._

* * *

 **Ooo, wonder what that's about. Again, sorry it took a while to get this chapter up. I'll be working on the next chapter and some one-shots. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Yo! articmadador here with Chapter 12. Maybe it's just me, but I think I've got this out a little sooner than the other. I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS. Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize. Sapphire-Starz17 owns Xvan. Please review and enjoy!**

* * *

"Yes! So much doggie-ness!"

Xvan lay on her back and pet both Solstice and Anthos as they ate dog food off of her shirt. She had been trying to feed them when she had fallen over and the dog food fell on her. The dogs took it upon themselves to help her out by eating it, and she could only laugh and enjoy the moment. A few minutes later, Gray came in and gasped at the scene before her.

"Xvan! Xvan, what are you doing!?" she exclaimed as she rushed over to pick up the bag of dog food.

"Feeding the dogs," Xvan replied as she sat up.

Gray began scooping up handfuls of the food and placing it back in the bag. "We don't have an infinite supply of food, Xvan. We need to be more conscious about how much we eat and how much of our supply we're using."

"You make it sound like this is a zombie apocalypse," Xvan mumbled as she got up and brushed herself off.

Gray pushed Anthos away as he tried to stick his muzzle in the bag of food. "You're the one who keeps saying this is the end of the world."

"According to Conley, it's the end of the world as we knew it. She says there's a difference."

Gray picked up the bag of food and placed it back in the closet that they always kept it in. "Where is Conley, anyway?"

"She's in the gym doing archery. She got me to shoot a few times. I think I did good."

Gray smiled, then leaned against the closet door. "At least you know where she is. She's always wandering off."

"Yeah. She's a dreamer. Likes to daydream and think. You kinda do that too."

"We all do now that there's nothing else to do these days."

"So…we're just doing it because we're bored?"

"Yeah, probably."

"Well, I'm never content with being bored. Let's go fuck with Conley," Xvan piped. Gray was about to protest, but Xvan was already walking. Gray signed, then followed with a smile. The dogs followed them and ran around in the hallways. "Gray, I was talking to Conley yesterday and…she says something's coming too.

"What else did she say?"

"Well, I asked her if she knew what was coming, and she said no. She also said we can't do anything until it comes."

"It?"

"Yeah…I don't know what she meant by that. She didn't want to talk after that, but she did ask me what I thought it might be. I told her I didn't know."

"So, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

They walked down the hallways that connected the school building to the athletic center. They then headed to the gym. The school gym was very large and very new looking. The floor was clean and seemingly freshly waxed. The walls were painted gray with a crimson and black stripe running through, just like in the cafeteria. A large painting of a cartoon-like Spartan warrior was on the wall at the end of the large gym, while the American flag and Kentucky state flag hung on the walls opposite of each other. Large black and crimson bleachers sat on either side of the gym, and metal chairs were stacked against the front bleachers. The basketball goals hung up out of the way, and if anyone wanted to put them down they would have to find the controls to do so. There was the large equipment closet next to the gym entrance that had two entrances. Equipment was neatly put away, and everything was in good condition. The gym was well lid, with multiple large lights on the ceiling and metal guards around them to prevent them from being damaged and broken.

Conley was walking across the gym with a green bow in her hand. She waved at them when they came in, then started running when Anthos and Solstice ran towards her. She managed to sit the bow on a stack of chairs, then fell over when the dogs jumped on her. Conley laughed as they jumped around and wagged their tails. They were excited to see her, and wasted no time licking her face until it was almost dripping wet.

"Xvan! Gray! Help!" Conley cried.

The two girls just stood there and laughed. "You sure, Conley?" Xvan asked. "You look like you've got this under control."

Conley pushed a hand around Solstice and gave Xvan the finger. Xvan laughed and crossed her arms. "Well, I was going to help you, but now…"

Now Conley managed to pull herself up and chased after Xvan. Xvan, being taller, was fast enough to get away. Conley was only a sprinter, but when she found a good running pace she was able to chase Gray. Gray wasn't as fast, but she managed to keep just out of Conley's reach until she ran out of breath. Conley finally had to stop, and Gray kept running and looking over her shoulder. She then ran into a stack of chairs and fell over. Both Xvan and Conley were at her side the moment they heard a pained cry. The dogs ran over as well to see what had happened.

Gray had cut her arm on a broken part of a chair. The part was plastic, so there was no need to worry about rust. There was the risk of infection, since there was no telling how dirty the chair was. Xvan ran off to get the first aid kit at the front of the gym while Conley sat beside Gray and tried to comfort her. She hugged her and began apologizing.

"I'm so sorry, Gray. I shouldn't have chased you."

"It's okay, Conley," Gray forced out. "I wasn't looking where I was going." Gray was doing her best to keep from crying. The cut ran a good distance up her forearm and was bleeding quite a bit, but it wasn't anything that she could die from. She would be fine once they cleaned it and bandaged it up.

"I still feel like it's my fault."

"You didn't push me into the chair, Conley. I ran into it."

"You were running because of me."

"But we were having fun. We didn't expect this to happen."

When Xvan ran back and got ready to clean the wound, Conley hugged Gray tightly. As Xvan started cleaning the wound, Gray could no longer hold back the tears. She tried not to make a sound, not even when Xvan bandaged it up. She tried to bear the pain, but she couldn't hide the tears. Conley noticed she was crying and could only hug her tighter. By the time Xvan had finished, even the dogs were sitting still in the silence.

"I'm so sorry, Gray," Conley said again.

Gray just nodded quietly. Conley looked up at Xvan and noticed she looked a little spooked. "What's wrong? You hurt too?" she asked.

Xvan shook her head. "I don't know how to console people when they start crying."

Conley stared at her, then looked at Gray, then looked back. "Me either."

"Then what do we do?"

Conley hugged Gray tight, then leaned over and licked a tear off her face. Xvan get down on her knees and shook her head. "What are you doing, you idiot?"

"Letting her know I feel her pain," Conley replied.

Xvan stared at her like she was crazy, then looked away. She then stood up and walked around to Gray's other side. "We're all crazy," she murmured before she sat down and licked Gray's tears. In between the two of them, Gray smiled, then she laughed.

* * *

 _Go to the Allspark, but be warned. Great evils await you, a battle shall come. Your new home draws closer, a blue and green jewel. On pass the cold planets, on pass the gas planets. Go gently through the sea of rocks that block your path. You are almost there. Go to Earth, Oh Primes, go to Earth._

* * *

Optimus woke up with the worse processor ache on this side of the universe. His entire frame seemed to ache, and his fuel tanks were churning like he had just drank bad energon. He onlined his optics, but his vision was blurry and his optics stung. He tried to move, but a wave of pain shot through him and he quickly went still. He couldn't really sense anything around him, so he didn't realize that someone was standing over him. It took a few minutes for his optics to clear up before he could see Ratchet leaning over him and checking something. It took a few more minutes before Optimus was able to feel what Ratchet was doing. Apparently Optimus was hooked up to some sort of monitor, and now Ratchet as unhooking it. When Ratchet finished, Optimus was fully conscious and tried to move again. He still felt pain, but this time it was not nearly as bad. With Ratchet's help, he managed to sit up.

"What…happened?" Frag, even his vocalizer was feeling strange. "The relics…"

"We can only assume that they've been sent off by the Matrix to some unknown location. We have no way to track them. I believe they're lost to the stars."

Optimus put a servo over his chest. The Matrix was there, but now it was humming quietly as it always did. "The Matrix made me do it. I did not mean for this to happen."

"So…your chest plates opened on their own?" the medic inquired.

"I believe the Matrix opened them."

"Is it speaking to you? Can you hear it? Do you think it will give you an answer for why this happened?"

Optimus shook his head. "It seems as if nothing ever happened. It's just…calm."

Ratchet signed and leaned against a wall behind him. He crossed his arms and was quiet for a while. When he finally spoke up, he stared off into the distance. "We've got this ship, and supplies, now. We're headed to Earth, but it'll take years to reach it at this speed. There are not quantum engines on this ship. We will…have to stop and add them on."

"That could be dangerous. It would be safer to find a ship that already—"

"Earth is running out of time, Optimus. At this point, we may be returning to an empty husk of a planet."

"Don't say that, Ratchet."

"It's true. If Megatron—"

"Considering the state he was in, Sentinel has probably beat him into submission."

"Megatron won't stop until he is killed."

"Then Sentinel will kill him."

Ratchet fell silent and thought for a moment. "Yes, Sentinel would kill him. Then he would take his place."

"Ratchet—"

"He tried to offline Ironhide! He betrayed us all! He's a traitor no better than the Decepticons!"

"Ratchet, though it was his choice to—"

"And you stood there and blamed yourself for what happened! You allowed the humans to blame you for it, but it wasn't your fault!"

"I put them all in harm's way."

"You're not a fragging mind reader, Optimus! You can't see the fragging future! No one expected Sentinel to betray us! He was one of our greatest leaders, and even you looked up to him! How were you, or any of us, supposed to see his betrayal coming!?"

Optimus stayed quiet, which was a wise choice. Ratchet was angry now, and if Optimus said the wrong thing, he might get a wrench to the helm. He did state at Ratchet, and he hoped that that wouldn't get the medic angry enough to fling the nearest object at his head. Luckily for him, Ratchet just vented and did not move from his spot.

"I've watched you blame yourself for so much. You blame yourself for the war, but it isn't your fault. You blame yourself for the deaths of so many Cybertronians that you didn't kill. You blame yourself for the loss of Cybertron, but you didn't destroy it yourself. You blame yourself for the destruction of the AllSpark, but you didn't shove it into Megatron's chest. You blame yourself for the many humans who have been killed in our battles, but just one Decepticons has more human blood on their servos than all of us Autobots combined. Now you want to blame yourself for Sentinel betraying us." Ratchet turned and looked at Optimus. "I won't allow that. I've had enough. You hear me!? I've had enough of you blaming yourself, and taking the blame for things that aren't even your fault!"

"Ratchet, I am responsible—"

"Don't give me any of that 'I'm Prime and I'm responsible for blah blah blah' crap! You're not responsible for what's not your fault! Stop blaming yourself!"

"Easier said than done, old friend."

"Then promise me something. Promise me that you will work to forgive yourself. I forgive you. It…it took me a while to forgive anyone, even Primus, for what's happened, but I forgave him and you. Not everyone has done that, and I may get angry again and end up blaming someone for all this. But then I'll just forgive them, especially when I realize that I may be blaming them for something that isn't their fault. You need to do that. You need to recognize what is and isn't your fault. You're making everything so much worse by blaming yourself. Can you promise me that you'll try, Optimus? Can you promise you'll try to forgive yourself?"

Optimus didn't reply. Even as Ratchet stared at him for a few minutes, he did not reply. Ratchet waited patiently, and Optimus took his time thinking. He thought quietly for what felt like an eternity. He thought about the war, how it started, what it had caused. He thought about the Autobots, the many close friends that he had lost. He thought about the many Cybertronians he had killed. He thought about the events that led to then going to Earth, and the events following their arrival. He thought about the Allspark, the Fallen, and Sentinel's betrayal. Then he finally answered Ratchet.

"I will try to forgive myself. I promise," he replied. He felt so guilty, but as he said these words, he felt as if just a little bit of weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Ratchet seemed content with that answer, and he stood straight and walked to Optimus' side. "Good, now get up. Everyone is worried about you, and you need to refuel."

Optimus slowly stood up, this time without Ratchet's help, and followed his friend out of the room and down the hall to where the other Autobots sat waiting for him.

* * *

 **There you go! I'll have Chapter 13 out soon, and hopefully not too long after that I might be able to another one-shot or two. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Yo! articmadador here with Chapter 13! I would've had it up sooner but I caught a virus a few days ago and felt like crap. Now I'm up and back in the game, but my allergies are trying to kill me. There's no relief, is there? Anyway, I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize. Sapphire-Starz17 owns Xvan. Please review and enjoy!**

* * *

 _Your home is here, the green and blue jewel. Beware the evils, you can not fight alone. You must seek guardians. Select warriors to save you, a land to conceal you. Beware and be strong. Welcome to Earth, Oh Primes, welcome._

"Come on, Xvan. Gimme some!"

"No, Conley. Why don't you be like Gray and get your own?"

"Cuz I'm lazy! Plus yours looks so good!"

"I'm not giving you any."

"But Xvan!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

Gray signed and ate the last bite of her granola bar. "Just give her some, Xvan."

Xvan huffed and let Conley break off a piece of her granola bar. "Thanks, Xvan!" Conley piped as she popped the piece into her mouth.

"Yeah, yeah. You owe me though."

"Okay, what do I owe you?"

"Well…when I'm ready to go inside, you'll have to help me out of this tree. I'm fucking stuck."

Conley laughed. Okay, Xvan. I'll help you out."

"We really should be going in soon," Gray said. "It'll be getting dark soon, and we need a bath after running around out here all day. The dogs need baths too."

"We'll need dinner too," Conley added.

Gray nodded. "I guess. But after the baths. That way our snack will be gone."

Xvan sat up, and Solstice, who was laying on her lap, jumped up as he almost fell from the tree. "We only ate a granola bar! Gray, you're going to starve us!"

"I just want to make sure we aren't wasting anything. We should've have even had that snack. We aren't being careful enough."

"Oh, Gray. You worry too much. You're like our mom."

"Well, she does have a point," Conley said. She reached over and gently scratched Anthos' ears as she spoke. "Gray is just more responsible than we are, it seems. We're a little too focused on now, and she's thinking ahead."

"What ever happened to living in the moment? Ever heard of taking one day at a time?"

"Yes, but there's also planning ahead and being prepared. We should listen to you more, Gray."

Gray smiled. "Yeah, you should. Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one with sense around here."

"Hey, we've got sense!" Xvan whined.

"I know, I know. Just wish you used it more often," Gray laughed.

"We do," Conley replied with a smile.

"Says the same person who thought it was smart to do archery in a tree."

"A squirrel scared me! That's why I fell out!"

"And how you landed on the broke bow and broke it. I had said you would fall out and break the bow, and you did!"

"Yeah, cuz you jinxed it! Now I've got a bruise the size of Alaska."

The girls laughed together, then Conley stretched. "I think I'm getting pretty tired, now. We'd better get moving now or I'll be sleeping in this tree."

Conley easily climbed down out of the tree, and Anthos carefully followed her. He hesitated before jumping out of the tree and landing neatly on the ground. It wasn't a far jump, and the tree had been easy to climb. Gray and Solstice were able to jump out as well. Xvan, however, stayed up in the tree. She looked down, then stared at Conley. Conley climbed up and grabbed her hand, then carefully led Xvan out of the tree. Xvan finally jumped down, then stood straight and dusted herself off.

"I don't know what you were scared of, Conley. That wasn't so bad," she said with a smile.

The three girls laughed and began heading back to the school. The dogs ran around them, barking and running. Then, they suddenly stopped and looked up in the sky. They began barking wildly, so much so that the girls turned around and looked at them. The dogs were looking up at the sky and barking at something entering Earth's atmosphere.

"Holy shit!" Conley exclaimed.

"Looks like your something is coming, Xvan," Gray said.

Xvan could only stare up at the objects falling. They glowed a bright blue, and they looked like giant stars falling right out of the sky. They were so bright against darkening blue sky, and were almost mesmerizing as they silently fell toward the earth. The girls stood still for a few minutes and watched them fall until the bright blue light glowed on their faces and seemed to illuminate the entire sky. Their attention was then ripped away as Anthos and Solstice turned and ran into the woods.

"Shit, the dogs!" Xvan cried.

They all turned and ran after the dogs as they fled into the woods. They were whining loudly, almost crying and baying mournfully. As the girls ran, the blue light became brighter. The entire forest suddenly glowed a brilliant blue, and the light behind them was almost blinding.

"Anthos! Solstice! Come back!" Gray cried.

The air was suddenly filled with the sound of roaring as the falling objects came closer. The ground seemed to vibrate from the noise, and it seemed almost as if the world was indeed ending. The girls lost sight of each other, and soon it became difficult to see. They were calling out to each other, but could barely hear over the roar that filled the air. They could hear the dogs baying, and they all followed the sound in hopes of catching the dogs and bringing them away from the danger.

Conley found herself in a horrible position. She was running blindly with the deafening roar hurting her ears. She could sense things running around her and when she was able to see, she saw the forest animals running around her. There was deer, squirrels, songbirds, rabbits, and even two foxes running side by side. They all ran around her, not minding her and wanting desperately to get away. Conley hoped they could. She hoped she could find Anthos, Solstice, and her two friends so they could get away as well. She called out to them, but she could barely hear her own voice. The roaring got louder, the light brighter, the air hot. She found it difficult to breathe and her skin became numb. She could barely see where she was going, but despite being so breathless that she was crying, she could not stop.

Something swept her off her feet. For a moment she was terrified when she looked up, but then she saw it was Xvan. Solstice came leaping over them and charged through the brush. Anthos came leaping after him, baying madly as he struggled to keep up. The two girls got to their feet and ran after the dogs. Conley could just hear her name, and she saw Gray run through the bushes and begin running beside her. The dogs must've been getting tired, because the girls were managing to keep up with them now. Conley began getting as low as she could without falling. She reached out to grab one of the dogs. She couldn't tell who at this point. She was almost there…

"Conley, look out!"

Conley did not have time to react when she heard Gray's voice beside her. All she knew was she went flying back onto the ground, and her legs and feet splashed in shallow water. See heard a louder splash, and looked up to see Gray on her knees in water. Xvan ran up beside her and slipped on mud, then fell on her belly. The dogs had stopped running and howled to the heavens as time seemed to stand still. The blue light filled the sky, and the air roared once again. Whatever had fallen from space crashed into the water, and in the second before there was any reaction the girls could all hear their hearts beat once. Then they are hit with a blinding light and stinging energy that swept across them, and the woods, and miles around. The sky filled with light, the air was filled with a metallic ringing, then all things went still. When the light finally dimmed and went out, and the air was finally silent, the forest sat quietly and still, and nothing was stirring.

* * *

Sentinel may have been a traitor, and at this point the new leader of the Decepticons, but he was still a Prime. He knew something had happened long before a Decepticon had come to give him a report. He had felt in his spark that something had happened. Something very important had come to Earth. The Decepticon informed him that they had detected and tracked multiple energy signals of Cybertronian origin as they entered the Earth's atmosphere. In all, there had been twelve signals, six tracked to one hemisphere of the planet, and six more to the other. They had lost track of some of them at this point, but they were still able to track a few of them.

Sentinel wasted no time in ordering that trackers and soldiers be sent to find whatever had emitted these signals and bring them to him. He felt that he should know what had crashed on the planet. He felt in his spark that he should not only know what they were, but where they were. But he didn't have the Matrix, and he figured that that relic would've let him know. He still thought about it, and scolded himself for allowing Optimus to keep it. However, if Optimus was alive, and if the Matrix did know what had crashed on the planet, then the mech would come to Earth soon. Perhaps all Sentinel would have to do is sit back and wait. Why hadn't he thought of that before? Knowing Optimus, he wouldn't let this planet and its organic species go that easily. He would come back and fight for them. All Sentinel had to do was sit back and wait.

* * *

Optimus woke up with a start. Actually, saying he woke up with a start is an understatement. He woke up yelling and clutching his chassis, and literally jumped right off the berth. He landed with a hard thud on the floor, then scrambled to his pedes with his servo painfully grasping his chassis. It felt as if the Matrix was moving around rapidly in his spark chamber. His chassis burned on the inside, and he opened his chest plates in hopes that the heat would escape. Instead, his entire frame heated up, and his audio receptors were filled with the sound of voices. They were rambling in Cybertronian so fast that he could not understand them. He could only press his servos against his helm and cry out in pain. He struggled to get to his pedes, but the pain from the noise and heat made him unable to balance, and he stumbled across the room. He fell against the wall and cried out again in pain as his entire frame felt as if it were on fire. Then the pain was suddenly gone. His systems returned to normal and the voices in his audios went away. He fell to his knees and groaned, then closed his chestplates. He didn't know what had just happened to him, but he needed to find Ratchet. He stood up and found that he could walk just fine. He opened the door, then looked around in the hall.

He decided he would go to the medbay first and see if Ratchet was there. He moved quietly down the hall and listened to the sound of the Matrix in his chest. It seemed to be making a strange noise, but as he moved along, he could tell it was getting quieter. He walked up to the medbay door and it opened in front of him. Ratchet was sitting inside and looked up at him.

"What is it?" Ratchet asked.

Optimus stepped in and decided to just jump right in and tell Ratchet what had happened. "I woke up just a short while ago in excruciating pain. The Matrix became so hot that I had to open my chest plates. When I did, my entire frame felt as if it were on fire and I heard voices speaking in Cybertronian in my audios."

Ratchet blinked at him then thought for a moment. "The Matrix may still be reacting to the relics."

"…Possibly, but why did I feel all of that pain?"

"I…I don't know. Maybe…I don't know. Would you like me to…maybe I could monitor the Matrix for a while."

Optimus went to open his chestplates, but Ratchet put a servo over them to stop him. "While it's still in your spark chamber first. Perhaps I could get Wheeljack to construct something to monitor the Matrix. I'll go talk to him now."

"Shouldn't I come as well?"

Ratchet shook his helm. "He's in a lab working, and the last thing we need is you getting injured and knocked out again."

Optimus nodded in understanding. "What should I do, now?"

"Get some energon, or talk to Prowl. He's still trying to figure out the best place to look for quantum engines. I'll let you know when I need you."

Ratchet left the medbay, leaving Optimus alone at the door. He could hear the Matrix still humming in his chest, though it was definitely lower than before. He put his servos over his chest and signed. For a while, he did nothing but stand there and listen to the Matrix humming. It was as if it were speaking, but he could not understand it. Surely there was something he could do so they he could understand it. He thought about it as he left the medbay. _Surely…there was something he could do?_

* * *

 **There you go. Chapter 14 will be out soon. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Yo! articmadador here apologizing for the wait for this chapter. I really didn't mean for it to take this long, guys. I must say this chapter is** _ **very**_ **important, and I was careful in writing it. No skipping or skimming please, you gotta read this one. Also, the IDW comics are still giving me ideas, so if you've read them or read summaries of them, you might see where they influenced my writing in this chapter. Also, sorry to Bumbilus Prime that I haven't written a one-shot with your character yet. I really want to, but I haven't had the time. As soon as I get the chance, I'll get started on it. I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize. Sapphire-Starz17 owns Xvan. Please review and enjoy! Also, longest chapter so far!**

* * *

Conley hurt all over. Her head was pounding, her stomach churned, and her limbs ached. But nothing on her body hurt as much as her left eye. It felt as if her left eye was on fire. It was like someone had stabbed her on the eye, or dropped acid in it. The pain was horrible, so much so that she almost wanted the claw it out of her face. She would if she could move. She tried to, but it hurt too much and she was just too tired. She not scream, bur she did moan in agony. She could also open her eyes, though her vision puzzled her.

Out of her right eye, she could see the blurry image of something large laying next to her. Out of her left eye, she saw only strange symbols that seemed to burn into her mind. She had never seen the before, but they did not look like any Earth language she has ever seen. She could suddenly hear sounds, but not just any sounds. They were animal sounds. She could hear all kinds of woodland animals, and she could hear them as if they were right next to her, or possibly right in her head. She could not single out one species at the moment because she was so delirious. She just knew that she could hear them.

Her vision was clearing up, and she was beginning to make out a shape in front of her. Her left eye still hurt so bad that she wanted to get it out of her head. Though nothing could fully distract her from the pain, she was temporarily distracted from it by what she saw laying before her. She recognized the fur right off the bat. It was Anthos' blue-gray fur. She even recognized his face. His large-jawed face that was standard for a pitbull. But the size…he had never been nearly this big before. It wasn't because he was close to her, because he was far away enough that she could not simply reach out and touch him. He was large as if he had grown in size. His head, neck, limbs, paws, and the rest of his body had grown to be larger in size. Conley could only stare at him in shock and did not notice that the vision in her left eye was changing. She began to see blue energy radiating off his body. She could see blue symbols outlining him, and every breath he took looked like blue steam. After a few minutes of her staring at him in silence, his eyes opened. His eyes were still pale gray, but his pupil was outlined in an electric blue ring. He stared straight at her, and for a moment he seemed not to recognize her. Then his gaze seemed to soften and there was a thump as his large tail hit the earth. He began to wag his tail, then slowly shifted to start standing up.

Conley's first urge was to run away, and she even tried to prop herself up on her elbows. The pain made it so difficult for her to even move, and with everyone breath a wave of pain shot through her left eye. Then, before she could move her legs up and get her knees under her, the pain became too overwhelming and she collapsed onto the wet mud beneath her. She then felt that she must calm down. She would get no where this way, and her eye seemed to be somehow letting her know that Anthos would not harm her. She looked at him and could see that he recognized her and wanted nothing mare than to go to her side and let her know that he was happy to see her.

"Anthos…" she whispered in a hoarse voice.

Anthos' large ears perked up, and he swung his massive white paws out from under him and planted them firmly on the ground. He began to stand, and Conley could see the muscles under his fur. When he stood to his full height, Conley was amazed. He was so tall, almost as tall as a horse. It seemed to get every crazier, because he had small purple wings tucked against his shoulders that were disproportioned to his size. He literally looked like a giant pitbull with little wings, but he also looked so majestic. So much so that he did not even look ridiculous. He just look beautiful, much like a mystical beast. He came up to Conley and lowered his massive head. He licked her across the face, and she painfully lifted an arm and lay it on his muzzle. She felt happiness radiation from him, and his tail wagged as she looked him in the eye and smiled. There was a groan behind her, and Conley recognized it as Gray's. She pushed herself off the ground with one arm, then grabbed on to Anthos' muzzle. He seemed to know what she was doing and pulled her up. She managed to turn around and could now see her friends.

Gray was laying still on the ground. Her skin was covered in glowing symbols that looked like the ones Conley was seeing with her left eye. Her eyes were open, and she seemed to be crying. Solstice lay beside her, looking very much like a giant golden retriever with blue wings. His eyes were open and he was trying to get up, probably so he could get to Gray. Conley had to shift so she could see a little further behind her. Xvan lay on the ground a short distance from her. She was holding her head and groaning in agony. Conley could just see that her face was lid with the blue symbols. Xvan groaned very loudly, then turned over and looked at Conley. Her eyes widened as she looked at both Conley and Anthos.

"Sh…shit…" she groaned.

Conley was about to say something to her when a sudden her gust of cool air went pass them, then came back pass them as if it were sucked back. The girls and the dogs, if they could still be called that, cried out in alarm, then suddenly collapsed. They then found that all the pain they had just felt was gone. Conley was now able to see more clearly with her left eye, though all she saw from it were outlines of everything around her and the symbols still dominated her sight. She was just glad it no longer hurt. Gray was able to move now, and she slowly stood with Solstice's help. The majestic looking golden retriever allowed her to use his muzzle for balance. Xvan was able to move as well, and she slowly sat up. Anthos helped Conley stand and did not move until it seemed like she could stand on her own. She turned and looked at Xvan, then looked back at Anthos. She spoke to him, but not aloud. It was more like she spoke to him in her head.

" _Please help Xvan up."_

He seemed to nod, then carefully made his way to Xvan and worked his large muzzle under her arm. She stared at him in alarm, but stood up when he began to pull upward. When she was able to stand on her own, Anthos left her and went back to Conley's side. Gray and Solstice slowly approached them as Xvan made her way to Conley's side. For a while they all stood and stared at each other. The forest seemed calm, and for the first time, they all noticed it was early morning. The sun must've just come up. The forest seemed so calm, and yet everything was singing. As the girls looked around, they were shocked by what they found.

The leaves on the trees reflected electric blue light. The dew on the grass was a light blue liquid instead of water. The squirrels and birds in the trees had electric blue eyes, and the insects flying by had electric blue exoskeletons. The water they were standing in seemed to faintly glow, and whenever something disturbed the water, it sparked a beautiful blue. The girls looked at themselves, taking in all of their features. Conley's left eye was glowing electric blue, and if one looked closely, they could just see her pupil, which was just a lighter shade of sparkling blue. Xvan's face now had lines that outlined her facial features and glowed blue. Gray's entire body was covered in blue glowing lines and symbols. As for both Anthos and Solstice, besides being dogs the size of horses with small wings, had their pupils lined by electric blue rings.

"What the heck is happening?" Xvan asked.

 _Warriors…_

"What the fuck!?" Conley cried as they all turned towards the water beside them.

 _My guardians…_

"Who…who is that? Who's there!?" Gray asked.

There was a strange sound as the water began to ripple, then a glowing diamond-shaped object rose out of the water. It looked as clear as glass, but there was a black metal chunk in the center of the diamond. Electric blue energy radiated off of it and surrounded it. The energy then reached out and surrounded them.

"What the…" Xvan began.

 _My warriors, I have chosen you to protect me._

"Protect…who are you!?" Conley asked.

 _I am Onyx._

The girls shared a confused look. "What are you?" Gray asked.

 _A mere faction of who I used to be now that I am in the form of a relic. I am a being who seeks protection._

"Why did you come here?"

 _The AllSpark is here._

"Allspark?"

 _A sacred cube that held the history of the Cybertronian race._

"Cyber what?" Conley asked.

 _Cybertronian. They hail from a planet known as Cybertron. They are robotic organisms who have come here to Earth._

"Oh, they're the robots!" Xvan exclaimed. "But why are they here?"

 _They seek Earth's resources. They wish to enslave your species to work on their behalf._

"So…why did you come here? Are you going to stop them?" Conley asked.

 _No. I have come for the Allspark."_

"Okay, but what does that have to do with us? You're the only alien thing around here, so you must've done this." Conley gestured to herself, her friends, and the dogs.

 _The AllSpark will not be found for many years. Until then, I must remain hidden here. I have selected you, amongst others, to protect me and this land. I have land to conceal me, and guardians to protect me._

"Guardians…" Gray murmured. "So we're your guardians? We're supposed to protect you?"

 _Indeed. I have given each of you gifts to aid in your new job. Xvan…_

"Holy fuck, it knows my name," Xvan whispered harshly.

 _Xvan, you have the gift of foresight. You will be able to see bad events before they take place. You will witness events in your dreams, and you will often hold the answer to one's fate. You will not be able to fully control your abilities, but with some time and practice, you will learn to control them to some degree._

Xvan looked at the others, then at the diamond. "Like a fortune teller…"

 _You are strong-willed and loyal. You are also strong and eager to protect your friends by any means possible. You will be a great fighter and leader, but you must learn not to be too stubborn. You must also learn who to trust, and who not to trust. Do not let suspicion get the best of you. And, do not withhold the visions you have. They could be the difference between life and death._

"No pressure, huh?" Xvan mumbled.

 _Conley, you have the gift to communicate with nature. Any animal with energon in their blood will answer to you and aid you. You will never be attacked by one of these animals. They will speak to you in spirit, so you must learn to listen. You must also remember that you are not their master in any way. You must be polite and ask of them, and it is their choice to follow you. You will care for our lands and protect them. You are loyal, and value not only your own loyalty, but that of others. What you lack in strength or skills, you make up for in courage and compassion. You will be not only a great leader, but you will be the one that many organics, humans and animals alike, will turn to in the most dire situations. However, you must beware of who you trust, and do not be afraid to put in more effort for everything you do. You must be brave, and do not hold your tongue when the time of action comes._

Conley nodded. "Thanks, I guess."

 _And you, Gray. You will have many skills, from the ability to communicate with others in your dreams, to the ability to temporarily control the minds of others. You must discover your many skills on your own. I warn you, Gray. You are the most powerful of my guardians, for you have the heart of a leader. You must choose to do right, or everyone and thing on Earth could suffer. Your task is the hardest, for you must lead all of my guardians and make the hardest decisions. Hard times will come, but you, my original three, will prevail and defend not only me, but this land as well._

"I still don't understand why you had to come here, and why you had to choose us," Gray said. "If you were able to give us these powers, why can't you defeat those robots yourself?"

 _It is not my desire to destroy. There has been too much destruction since Cybertron first formed. I only wish for peace and tranquility in nature._

"So, our job is to make sure those robots don't destroy any of this forest and find you?"

 _Yes, that is your sole purpose. Unless…you do not except._

Conley looked at her friends, then stepped forward. "I accept, Onyx."

"I accept," Xvan added as she stepped forward as well.

"I accept," Gray said in a firm voice. "But…what now?"

 _Train and prepare. Be ready for what mysteries the future holds. Be strong and be brave, my guardians. Defend me and this land._

The energy around the diamond began to move back and pulled away from the forest around them. It retreated back to the diamond, then they watched as it began to quietly sink below the water's surface. The girls watched the last ripple disappear, and after a moment of looking around in wonder and slight confusion, they turned and slowly headed back to the school.

* * *

Megatron had felt the relics crash on Earth. Even in his delirious state, he felt them. Something very powerful had landed on this planet, and he was unable to go to it. He couldn't even take two solid steps before collapsing into a heap of rusted metal. Not like Barricade or Soundwave would let him go two steps. They wouldn't even let him move. They brought him energon, shifted him when he seemed uncomfortable, and helped treat his injuries. They had a medic working to get rid of the rust Megatron was suffering from, as well as patch up the large injury on his helm.

So far Megatron was recovering at a steady rate. His head injury was looking better, and with him receiving a good grade of energon daily, his self repair systems were helping speed things up. As for the rust, because most of the parts on him were not exactly his, it was harder to get rid of it. It was decided that went Megatron was better able to move around and could successfully transform, he would be taken to a place where he could scan a new alternate mode. Hopefully when his body took on a new form then the injuries and rust problems would be solved by repair systems. For now, he just needed to get well enough to get to that point.

Barricade had been giving him his last supply of energon for the day when he had sensed the relics. At first Megatron had just seized up and stared into the energon. He was in shock for a moment, and his frame even shook when intense heat went through him. Barricade had noticed the reaction and asked him if he was okay. Megatron had told him yes and shooed him off, but he was far from okay. He was mostly confused and angry that he could not fully sense what had crashed on the planet. He became more angry because he knew he could not move and investigate what had fallen. It angered him to be on the same planet with something so powerful, and not being able to go to it.

Everything that had happened in recent months had made Megatron angry, from Sentinel betraying him and taking his army, to him being cast away like some worthless scrap. He was already thinking of ways to get back at everyone who had done him wrong. He would start with Sentinel and work his way down a list. He wanted everyone to pay for his current state, but at this point there wasn't much he could do except sit and sip energon while seething with hatred. So that's what he did. He hated as best he could, and he swore that as soon as he could stand and fight, he would make everyone pay.

* * *

"Twins, I'm going to shoot you into little pieces and toss every single one of those pieces off the ship!"

There was a loud clang, then a yelp. One silver and one gold blur zipped through the small rec room of the ship. Before they left, one of them flicked the light off in the room. They were followed by a bright green painted Ironhide. His armor glowed in the dark, which served to make him even more mad since they had painted him to look like a skeleton. The few bots in the rec room could only laugh as Ironhide continued to yell out threats and chase the twins through the room.

"It's like tha good ol' days back on Cybertron, huh Ratchet?" Jazz asked before taking a sip out of his energon cube.

"Yeah. At least they're not painting me," Ratchet replied.

"Careful, Ratchet. Ya might jinx it."

The medic laughed. "I don't know why I do that to myself."

Somewhere there was a loud crash, then Chromia's voice could be heard yelling in Cybertronian. There was another crash, then a cry of pain, then Optimus yelling in Cybertronian. Ratchet vented and rest his head on his servos. Jazz laughed and took another sip of energon.

"So…" Jazz began. Ratchet looked up at him and narrowed his optics.

"I'm sure ya heard Prowl 'n Optimus decided on a place ta stop 'n search fer quantum engines, right?"

"No, I did not."

"Well, yer in fer a nasty surprise. He thinks the best place to go is Junkion."

Ratchet had been taking a sip, and Jazz began laughing when energon was suddenly spit out across the table. "What!?" Ratchet roared.

"Yeah, he thinks Junkion is tha best place ta go since—"

"He must have a worse glitch in his processor than I thought!"

"Well—"

Jazz barely got out the last syllable before Ratchet had stormed out of the rec room. Jazz laughed to himself, then finished off his energon cube. He looked down at Ratchet's and thought for a while. He then shrugged and picked it up. "Hate to let any rations go to waste."

Meanwhile, Ratchet stomped right pass Ironhide beating the tar out of the twins and ignored their cries for him to come help. He moved pass Chromia, who was venting to Optimus about how reckless the twins were. Optimus took one look at Ratchet and seemed to know something was wrong, and he stepped out of the medics way as he stormed pass. Ratchet found Prowl in a small room that he had made into a makeshift office. The mech was holding an old data pad and trying desperately to get it working. When Ratchet entered the room, he looked up to greet him, then promptly shut his mouth when he saw Ratchet's facial expression.

"Is something wrong, Ratchet?" he asked calmly after a few seconds of silence.

"Junkion!? Junkion, you glitch!? You want us to go there of all places!?"

Prowl put the data pad down and sat up straight. "It is the best place to look for parts for quantum engines."

"It's covered in junk and Terrorcons! There's a good chance that we will be ripped to shreds the moment we land!"

"After Megatron paid a visit to the world a few vorn ago, and after the battles that followed, there are plenty of ship parts there and less Terrorcons to worry about."

"That was vorns ago, you glitch! There are probably Terrorcons running around everywhere!"

"Well…possibly, but apparently a good number of ships crashed there, so we have a good chance of finding the supplies we need."

"Yes, and we can also get our arms ripped off in the process! Why not get eaten!? I've always dreamed of going to a planet covered in junk to have my faceplates torn off and devoured."

"Ratchet, you're being very dramatic."

"I don't think I'm being dramatic enough!"

"Do you have any suggestions, Ratchet? Do you know of another planet in this area that we could go to for supplies? For quantum engine parts? We are headed straight for Junkion, and changing course would just send us into open space. But please, Ratchet. I am open to suggestions."

Ratchet scowled at him and clenched his servos into fists. He was quiet for a minute, then shook his helm and crossed his arms. "So that's the only planet we can go to?"

"At this point, yes. Any other planet we could go to is too far or too off course. We need to get to Earth as soon as we can. We've already been gone too long."

Ratchet grumbled something in Cybertronian. Prowl heard it with his sensitive doorwings. "I'd hate to die on that planet as well, but it won't happen."

Ratchet stared at him for a moment. "Slaggin doorwings. And how do you know we won't ?"

"Well…I suppose we must have faith."

"You sound like Jazz."

"That's what happens when he spends too much time around anyone."

"I guess." Ratchet mumbled.

It was silent for a moment, then there was another crash down the hall. The twins could be heard calling out for help. Prowl signed and stood up.

"What did they do now?" he asked.

"They painted Ironhide with glow in the dark paint to look like a skeleton."

Prowl blinked at Ratchet. "Just like the old days on Cybertron?"

Ratchet nodded. "Yeah. Just like the old days."

* * *

 **There you guys go. I will be working on the next chapter, but because school is putting on the pressure I can't guarantee it will be too soon. Just know I'm working in it, though. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n !**


	15. Chapter 15

**Yo! articmadador here saying oh my Primus you guys, I am so, so sorry that I am just now getting this chapter out. I've had so much to do in so little time and my schedule is still busy. Right now I have four school projects due that will probably cause a delay in the next chapter being posted. Sorry guys, but a kid's gotta do what they gotta do. Anyways, here's chapter 15, and it is a longer chapter. I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material you don't recognize. Sapphire-Starz17 owns Xvan. Italics with quotations is Conley talking in her mind to animals. Please review and enjoy.**

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"I still don't believe it, Anthos," Conley whispered as they walked through the forest. " _I still don't believe it."_

Anthos brushed his large, wet nose against the back of Conley's hand. She laughed quietly and gently pet his head. A sound beside her made her look up, and she looked right at a large brown buck with glowing blue eyes. He looked up at Conley and Anthos with no fear and continued to chew on whatever he was eating. He was very large and looked very muscular, and his antlers were very large and tall. He had a sleek brown coat, but scars were visible on parts of his face and chest. Despite his scars, he was a very beautiful creature.

" _Hello, cousin,"_ Conley said to him.

The buck stiffened, then after a few seconds he flicked his ear and went back to eating. Conley smiled and took a moment to admire his beauty, then continued walking with Anthos. She took in every detail of the forest with both eyes. Out of her right eye, she saw the trees and animals clearly as she had seen them before, though they looked even more beautiful. Out of her left eye, she saw the blue energy that radiated off of everything and the glyphs surrounding them. However, sometimes she had to stop and stare at things for while before realizing what they were. She was still trying to get used to this new way of seeing the world.

Behind her, Anthos seemed to be having a difficult time walking and keeping his balance. He was not entirely used to his new size yet, and he was still figuring out how to move and place his paws. His eyesight was different now, and he could see so well that it threw him off. He could see in full color, but he could not look around at everything like he wanted. He was too busy focusing on where and how to place his heavier paws. To make matters worse, he kept accidently twitching and moving his wings. He didn't like the little annoying things, especially since he had never had them before. He didn't know what they were, but he somewhat knew what they were for. Despite this, he stayed close behind Conley and managed to enjoy himself. At least he was still able to wag his tail, and it wagged furiously as he carefully walked along..

Conley walked ahead of him for a while, then stopped and marveled at a beautiful blue butterfly. She stood quietly and tried to talk to it, but the only reaction she received was it landing on her and fluttering its wings. Conley sat down on the ground and tried to listen to it, but the butterfly seemed not to notice. She signed and looked up at Anthos.

" _Maybe it can't talk back. Can you talk back?"_

Anthos wagged his tail and walked closer, then settled down in the dirt. Conley tried hard to see if he was trying to speak to her, but he said nothing. There was no other voice in her head. She signed again and looked down. "This is harder than I thought. It would've helped if Onyx had given me some tips or somethin'."

Anthos' large tail thumped against the ground and he rolled over on his back. He began rolling around to scratch his back, but suddenly yelped and struggled to get up. Conley jumped up and rushed to his side as he stumbled around on unstable paws. He them swung his head around and licked at the small purple wing on his side. Conley stepped to his side and examined it. Other than some dirt and dry leaves stuck to it, it looked fine. It didn't seem broken, so Conley assumed that he had felt some discomfort after putting too much weight on it.

"You're okay, Anthos," she murmured as she pet his fur.

She noticed that his fur seemed longer and more coarse than before. She could see the gray, white, and even silver fur that mixed together to make his coat appear blue. As Conley ran her fingers through the ling fur, she saw that there was softer, thicker fur growing out closer to Anthos' body. It seemed to be more like a winter coat. Conley hummed to herself, then turned and looked at the trees. If she looked closely, she could see that some of the leaves were changing color. Autumn was coming already, and winter would be here soon.

"Whoa…can you believe that, Anthos? Fall will be here soon."

Anthos didn't seem to be listening, but was watching a blue butterfly as it landed on his nose. Conley looked around and noticed that the butterflies were landing on everything all around them. She suddenly felt so happy, and as all the butterflies flew around and settled on her a and Anthos, she became even more joyful. Anthos watched them all, his tail moving a mile a minute. He sniffed them, then tried to lick one, then watched as Conley talked to the ones on her hands. Together, Conley and Anthos played with the butterflies for half of the day.

Eventually Conley got hungry and decoded to go look for food. She searched for food and soon found one of the beehives that she could get honey from. While treating herself to the honey, she noticed that Anthos was eating a few branches. Conley found this odd, but he seemed so content. There wasn't much else to give him to eat out here. After a while of him munching on branches, then eating stones, Conley walked up to him and pulled his mouth open.

Anthos had such large jaws, and he had so many teeth the were so many different shapes and sizes. He had large canines and other sharp teeth, but they had such ragged edges that it seemed like they could easily tear bone. However, mixed in with these sharp teeth were flat teeth that seemed more suited for grazing. Anthos even had large sets of molars for grinding and for ripping food. She wasn't sure how many teeth he had, but there were a lot more than she cared to count. They are all in a neat row, though some seemed naturally crooked and leaned forward or inwards for some reason. His gums were a mix of pink and black and his long, pink tongue was still much like a dog's, though it was slightly thicker. His teeth seemed so strong, but his breath wasn't so sweet. Conley closed his mouth at pet his head.

"Onyx really changed you, Anthos. You're kind badass, ain't ya?"

Anthos licked her face, and she jumped back and tried to wipe herself clean. "Eww!"

The dog wagged his tail and panted while she laughed and dried her hands on her pants. It was towards noon, and the day was hot. Conley led Anthos to the shade, and they sat together and stared at the forest around them. Conley found that she was quite at home out in these woods, and Anthos seemed just as comfortable.

" _Well, Anthos…I didn't figure out how to talk to anything, yet. Guess it's gonna take time. Strange, though. I can talk to animals, but they won't talk back. Onyx said I have to learn to listen…"_

Conley sat in the silence and listened to the sounds the animals made, but she could not make sense of it. Eventually she drifted off, and Anthos decided that he would take a nap as well.

Meanwhile back at the school, Xvan was stumbling around the building with images flashing through her head. Her power of sight was driving her crazy. She could not control the images that flashed through her mind. She couldn't even understand what she was seeing, because everything flashed a mile a minute. She had tried sleeping, but now horrible images haunted her dreams. When she woke up, they were less horrifying, but still flashed by too quickly. She suddenly felt nauseated and slid to the floor. She held her head as more images flowed through her mind.

"Stop…" she groaned.

The images continued flowing, so this time she tried to focus as hard as she could on them. At first they still flashed by quickly, but as she focused, they began to slow down.

"Stop…" she groaned louder.

They slowed down even more. Now she could see what was in the images. She saw herself, Gray, Conley, and the two dogs. She saw people she did not know and the deaths of some of those people. She saw animals attacking people, and robots attacking people and animals. She saw people laughing and having fun, as well as people crying and fighting for their lives. She clenched her eyes so tightly that they hurt and bruised her head as she pressed her fingers against her head and dug her nails into her skin.

"Stop it!" she screamed.

The images stopped. For a moment she sat in silence with her eyes still closed. She expected the images to come back, but they did not. She opened her eyes and looked around. She had stumbled into a classroom and was pushed against a teacher's desk. She leaned her head against it and stared at the tiles on the ceiling. They were white panels with black spots on them, and as she stared at the tiles, they seemed to move like little ants. She closed her eyes as a small tear rolled down her cheek. While her eyes were closed, the image of Gray trying to go down stairs and falling flashed in her mind. She then saw herself standing over Gray, who was laying on a landing in the staircase. Gray was unhurt, and they were both laughing. Gray opened her eyes and gasped as pain shot through her head. She took deep breaths and allowed a few tears to roll down her cheeks. There was a noise beside her, and she turned to see Gray enter the room. The lights above them suddenly flickered on, and Xvan shielded her eyes.

"Gray, turn the light off!" Xvan hissed.

"I can't! I've been trying to stop all day! Every time I walk pass something electric, it comes on! I can't make anything go off, and I've been looking for you and Conley all day!"

"Conley? She's probably in the forest."

"Well…can you help me look for her? Now Solstice has gone missing. She's supposed to be able to talk to animals, so maybe she can call him or something."

"He's probably in the forest with her, too."

"Can you please come with me to check?"

"Okay, fine," Xvan said reluctantly.

Gray reached down to help Xvan up, but an image of electricity shooting from Gray's hand to Xvan's flashed in Xvan's mind. Xvan jumped back before Gray could touch her and climbed to her feet. She stumbled from getting up too quickly, but she managed to gain her balance.

"Sorry, Gray. I think if you touch me, you'll electrocute me."

Gray looked at her hand, then back at Xvan. "Electrocute you? Really?"

"That's what I saw."

Gray stared at her hand, then shrugged. "Well…okay. Come on, I want to find Conley and the dogs."

Gray left the room and Xvan followed. "Can they really be called dogs anymore? They look like giant fluffy dragons," she said with a smile.

"Or giant dogs with wings."

"At least they're still cute."

"Yeah, they really do look—Aaahhhh!"

The girls had been walking down the stairs when Gray had tripped and went tumbling down. Xvan had rushed after her as she rolled down and finally stopped at the landing. She looked down at her face and found that Gray was giggling.

"Holy shit, are you okay?" Xvan asked.

Gray only nodded and began to laugh. Xvan chuckled a little, then stopped and stared at Gray as she stood up. Xvan remembered seeing the images of Gray on the floor laughing while she stood over her. It was creepy to know she and seen it before it happened. Even worse, she could've prevented it from even happening. If Gray could've been hurt and she had not said anything…

"Xvan, are you okay?"

Xvan gasped as images began flowing through her mind again, and she was unable to focus and control them. She turned and blindly fled up the stairs. She was unable to hear Gray calling out for her, and by the time Gray thought to go after her, she had fled into a janitor's closet and managed to lock herself in. Gray wanted to get to her and help, but she had been looking for Conley and Solstice all day. She really wanted to find them, and figured she could come back for Xvan later.

Gray made her way outside and headed into the forest to find Conley. She searched through the woods for quite a while, but could not find them. Even when she called out for Conley and the dogs, there was no reply. As the day dragged on and Gray became more agitated, she decided the go back to the school and see if Conley was there. Just as she turned around, she ran right into something that had been standing behind her. She shrieked as she saw a large creature leaning over her, then lashed out to hit the figure. There was a yelp, then Gray saw that she had struck Solstice on the nose.

"Solstice!? Oh, I'm so sorry!" she cried as she ran over ad wrapped his arms around Solstice's soft, furry neck. He wagged his tail and she felt something warm and wet on her back. She reached back and wiped her back, only to find saliva on her hands. "Solstice, that's gross."

Solstice wagged his golden tail, then looked up at something hanging over Gray's head. She turned around and looked up, only to scream and fall backwards. Conley was hanging upside down while Anthos was holding her up in the tree. She laughed as Gray scrambled to get away from them, then collapsed and signed in relief upon seeing who it was. Anthos pulled Conley up and she climbed on his back. He then jumped down from the tree and landed neatly on all four paws. Conley jumped off and ran over to Gray, who was still laying on the ground.

"Scared ya, didn't we?" she asked with a grin.

"Sometimes…I really don't like you," Gray growled.

"Haha! You know you love me!". Conley grabbed Gray's arm and pulled her up to her feet. "We've been tracking you all day. You literally walked in circles the entire time." Conley stopped beside Anthos and he bent down. She climbed up on his back and held on as he carefully stood up. "You didn't even notice that we were following you."

Gray stared at Solstice as he leaned down for her to get on his back. She wasn't sure if it was such a good idea, but Solstice actually looked very sure of it. His tail was wagging and he moved closer to her. He seemed to be begging her to get on his back with his deep, black eyes. She took a step forward, but hesitated. She didn't want to hurt him. His back also didn't seem like it would be very comfortable to sit on. But still, he seemed to want her to get on his back so badly…

"Good ahead," Conley said. "It's more comfortable than you think."

Gray stared at her for a while, then turned and slowly climbed on Solstice's back. His fur was like a natural cushion and it was indeed more comfortable than it looked. She smiled and ran her fingers through his long, golden fur. She gently rubbed his small blue wings and watched as they twitched under her touch. Gray looked up and up at Conley and laughed. "This is so cool," she murmured.

"Yeah, but if you had told me I'd be riding on a giant winged pitbull two days ago, I would've laughed in you face."

Gray sat up. "So…how do I make him go?"

Conley shrugged. "They listen to me when I talk to 'em. Just try that."

"Okay…Solstice, go forward." Solstice walked beside Anthos and stopped. "Okay. This'll work."

"Good," Conley piped. Anthos turned and began heading into the forest. "Follow me," she called. Solstice began following Conley without being told and walked beside Anthos. "I wouldn't have known you were here if the birds hadn't told me," Conley said suddenly.

Gray looked at her in disbelief. "The birds told you?"

"Oh, not literally. They were flying around me singin' and tweetin', and I just kinda…knew they were telling me you were here."

Gray nodded. "So, you know how to use your powers?"

"No, I wish I did. I've been trying all day to hear the animals, and no matter how much I talk to them or listen to them making noises, I can't understand them."

"Well, maybe you're trying too hard."

"Trying too hard?"

"Yeah. Maybe you can't hear them because you're thinking to much and trying too hard."

"Tryin' too hard…yeah, why didn't I think of that!? Thanks, Gray! I'll have to relax and listen to them. Maybe when I'm chill I'll be able to understand them." They walked a short distance before Conley turned to Gray. "Where's Xvan?"

Gray blinked and stared straight her for a moment, then gasped. "Oh, she's back at the school having a fit! She can't control her powers!"

"Wait, you left her there!?"

"I was so busy looking for you that I forgot she was still there!"

"Damn, Gray! Come on!" Conley said before gripping Anthos' back. He turned and charged through the bushes.

"Sorry…" Gray murmured before she grasped Solstice's back. He turned and charged after Anthos, and together they headed back to the school.

* * *

"That is one ugly planet," Sunstreaker growled.

The ship was slowly approaching a small, brown planet. It sat alone in the starry sky with no moons, and as the ship approached, it looked like a rusty planet covered in colorful rocks. These colorful rocks were actually large piles of junk that had collected on the planet. Large chunks of space junk also surrounded the planet, but it was not too much to be concerned about.

"Don't we really have to go there?" Sunstreaker groaned.

"Yes, we do," Ratchet replied.

"But why?" Sideswipe asked.

"We need parts for quantum engines."

Sideswipe stared at Ratchet for a few seconds with a blank expression. "Okay, but why though?"

"I just told you," Ratchet mumbled as he ran his servos over his faceplates. "We need parts for the ship."

Sideswipe still sat silently and stared at Ratchet. After a few more seconds, he spoke again. "Yeah, but why tho—"

"Shut up." Ratchet grumbled.

Sideswipe laughed and leaned against the monitor he and his brother had been staring at. "I'm bored, Ratchet."

"Then go bother someone else."

"Awww!" Sideswipe groaned and slid to the floor. He then lay there and stared at Ratchet. "Hey Ratchet?"

"What?"

"Do you think we'll make it to Earth before all the humans are dead?"

"Sideswipe!"

"Do you?"

Ratchet fell silent and stared straight forward. "I don't know."

"That's not an answer."

"Yes it is."

"No it wasn't. I want a yes or no answer. So, what do you think? Will we make it?"

"I doubt that the entire human race will be wiped out, but…I don't think we'll get there anytime soon. The majority of them may be gone."

"How long do you think it'll be before we get there?"

"Do you know how long it takes to construct and repair quantum engines? It'll take at least a year to get them working."

Sideswipe sat up. "You mean we won't get to Earth for another year!?"

"Possibly more than that. This is Que we're dealing with. He's almost exactly like Wheeljack, and everything he constructs has to blow at least once."

"Won't exploding quantum engines kill us all?"

"Yes, but hopefully there's a explosion before we get to that point."

"Does Optimus know how long this could take?"

"Yes, and he's less than pleased."

Sunstreaker moved to his brother's side and sat down. "At least when the engines are done, we'll be at Earth in no time."

"If we get the systems set up correctly. There's chance that we won't be able to control where we go."

"What!? We can't travel like that! We might quantum jump into the middle of a sun!"

"Optimus wouldn't let that happen. He may want to get us back to Earth as soon as possible, but he won't risk our lives like that. I suppose we'll just have to be patient and take everything as it comes."

"Hey Ratchet, I heard you murmur something about Terrorcons when Optimus said we were all going to Junkion. Are they still there?" Sideswipe asked as he played with Sunstreaker's doorwings. The golden twin batted his servo away in annoyance.

"I hope not. We don't have the weapons or the numbers to fight any of them off. This is a cargo ship on case you haven't noticed."

"Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?"

"You know, I didn't really think much of humans when I got to Earth. I didn't really care about them at all," Sideswipe admitted as he continued to play with Sunstreaker's doorwings. Sunstreaker just watched him in annoyance, but there was also some fondness mixed in. "I thought they were so small, weak, and insignificant. Sideswipe sat up and looked at Ratchet. "But they really do grow on you. I'd hate for them to go extinct. Not all of them are bad, and they really don't deserve it."

"They won't—"

"They might, Ratchet," Sunstreaker said. "You know what 'Cons can do."

"But you don't know what humans can do. They're tougher than we think."

Sunstreaker glanced up at Ratchet, then looked down at Sideswipe, who was now trying to recharge on the floor. "I hope you're right, Ratchet. I really hope you're right.

* * *

 **You guys, I really am so sorry it took so long for me to post this chapter. I've been wanting the finish this chapter and keep writing this story, but schoolwork comes first. I'll get the next chapter started and I'll have it finished and posted as soon as I can. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


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